Whole round skipjack tuna prices for delivery to Bangkok, Thailand in September have further firmed, after hitting a two year-record low in July and having rebounded in August, industry sources told.

The current price is $1,450 per metric ton, one US-based trader told Undercurrent. "It is possible that there might have been a sale or two at a slightly [higher] price, but generally I think today, we can say that is the price," he said. Other sources confirmed this price level.

Industry sources also said that despite "fishing in the Western Pacific Ocean had been slow" and "the supply pipeline to Asian canneries is now emptying compared with the past several months", skipjack prices are likely to continue moving upwards to $1,500/t and over within the short-term.

Photo Source: Thai Union

Meanwhile, yellowfin tuna prices are "firm everywhere". Yellowfin prices in Spain rose last month, driven by an increase of skipjack prices for delivery to Bangkok and lower catches in the Indian Ocean. 

In Spain, large yellowfin prices are made at around €2,500-2,550/t ($2,900 to $2,962), according to sources.

"The canneries generally complain about a reduction of canned (tuna) sales by around 6% compared to the previous year, which slows purchases," one source at Spanish tuna fishing firm said.

The increase in prices was without a doubt "helped by the Indian Ocean quota as well as the veda closure in the Eastern Pacific Ocean", another industry source noted.