Sources: Falling Bangkok skipjack prices still not at bottom.Prices for skipjack tuna in Bangkok, Thailand have fallen around $200 per metric ton for on October, with a further drop for December being forecasted.The price for skipjack in Bangkok has been set at $1,100/t,down from $1,300/t October is confirmed, and I think it quite possible that one or two of the biggies may have even done a bit under that,” said one well-placed US executive (source A), not wishing to be quoted by name. “Most players seem resigned to the fact that we shall see $1,000/t- $1,050/t for December. Then what?”

A second Asia-based executive, also not wishing to be named (source B), said this is the level and agreed with the likely drop.“I’d have preferred the price to have stayed where it is and not come down, a further drop is not good news for anyone,” he told Undercurrent News.The level of finished goods being offered is the indicator to source B that prices are destined to slump further, placing the fishing sector, already struggling with very low prices, under even more pressure.

“It’s not good for anyone,” he said. "The only beneficiaries are end buyers and those with strong brands, such as Thai Union Group and Dongwon Enterprise. Having said that, Thai Union has private label business and Dongwon a large fleet, so this also offsets the benefits on the branded side."

“Talking with Thai canners and European Union canned good importers, the feeling is that both the canneries and wholesalers/retailers are only buying their real needs, and waiting on lower prices they know are coming,” said source A.“It’s very unhealthy, but nobody has yet come up with a solution for getting out of the downward spiral,” he told Undercurrent.A partial, or full tie-up seems inevitable for those who can, he said.

Back in June, the WTPO said it was looking to cut fishing effort by 35%.The ban on catching with fish aggregation devices (FADs) -- which began July 1 and runs for four months – has now finished in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), however.As well as the end of the FAD ban in the WCPO, there is also a gap in the closures in Ecuador.