Wuhan: Freshwater fish market supply increases, prices gradually stabilise

Recently, as the weather has turned cooler, the supply of freshwater fish in the aquatic products market has increased, and prices have moved toward stability. "Freshwater fish trading prices have fallen overall compared with the earlier period, but are still higher than the same period last year," said Liu Shaoxin, an aquatic products dealer at Wuhan Baishazhou.

In September, the growth in freshwater fish trading volume is expected to accelerate. This is because, on the one hand, it is supported by the two major consumption peaks of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, and on the other hand, the prices of crucian carp and bream have dropped by more than 1 yuan compared with July and August, while the prices of grass carp and silver carp and bighead carp have also declined somewhat, stimulating market consumption.

Industry insiders predict that in the coming months, the prices of the four major Chinese carps will still decline somewhat, but will be higher than in previous years. At present, grass carp and silver carp and bighead carp, which have the largest trading volume in the Wuhan market, have not yet reached their peak market period. Local new-crop grass carp has begun to reach the market, while new-crop silver carp and bighead carp still need some time to reach the market. It is estimated that when the freshwater fish market peak arrives, fish prices will fall compared with the previous period, and the price gaps between different sizes of each species will widen. For example, the market supply of small-size grass carp, silver carp and bighead carp will not be small, while the supply of large-size fish will certainly be insufficient. When winter comes and the public's demand for curing fish is especially great, the price of large-size grass carp should rise.