Peruvian Squid Quotas Increased Again, Prices in The Chinese Market Continued To Decline, While Argentine Squid Prices Remained Firm

Peru has further increased its 2026 catch quota for giant squid (jumbo flying squid), fueling market expectations of increased supply. Influenced by the new quota, wholesale prices of Peruvian giant squid in the Chinese market continued to decline, while prices for Argentine squid (Illex squid) remained stable due to continued tight supply, showing a clear divergence between the two major South American squid species.

Data shows that wholesale prices of 1-2 kg Peruvian giant squid at Chinese ports fell compared to the previous week, continuing their downward trend. In contrast, wholesale prices for 200-300 g Argentine squid remained largely unchanged from the previous week, showing no significant fluctuations.

This price change is closely related to Peru's latest adjustment to its fishing policy. The Peruvian Ministry of Production has increased the 2026 catch quota for giant squid to 589,230 tons, an increase of 50,000 tons from the previous plan. As of the remaining fishing season from July 7th to December 31st, there are still 68,218 tons of quota available for fishing.

Official statistics show that as of July 6, Peru's cumulative unloading volume reached 519,682 tons, accounting for 88.2% of the adjusted annual quota. Due to the further expansion of the quota, the market generally expects more raw materials to enter the international market in the coming months, further strengthening expectations of ample supply.

The Zhoushan International Agricultural Products Trade Center in Zhejiang Province stated that after Peru's continuous quota increases, purchasing companies have become significantly more cautious in their procurement. Currently, the market is more inclined to control inventory rather than actively expand procurement, mainly because the market expects further increases in supply, and prices lack upward momentum in the short term.

The Trade Center believes that the recovery of catering consumption in the second half of the year is still expected to drive an increase in squid product transactions. However, buyers are currently more focused on inventory management, and the market transaction pace remains relatively stable, with no concentrated restocking.

The Argentine squid market presents a different situation. As the market is still mainly digesting existing inventory, supply remains tight, and wholesale prices remain relatively high, unaffected by the increased supply of Peruvian squid.

Whether future supply can improve remains to be seen and depends on changes in the size of Argentina's fishing fleet. The Argentine Federal Fisheries Committee recently reaffirmed its commitment to continuing the plan to add 15 to 20 squid fishing vessels, despite continued opposition from Buenos Aires Province. A technical report released by the Argentine National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) suggests that, under the existing resource management system, adding 15 to 20 squid fishing vessels could enhance Argentina's fishing capacity within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and strengthen its competitiveness in the international market.

The report also points out that currently only 84 squid fishing vessels operate within Argentina's EEZ, while approximately 338 foreign fishing vessels operate in the waters surrounding the EEZ, and about 150 vessels operate in the waters around the Falkland Islands. This disparity in fleet size is one of the key reasons why Argentina continues to discuss expanding its domestic fishing capacity.

Currently, the Peruvian giant squid market is digesting the supply expectations brought about by the new quotas, and prices are still under downward pressure; while Argentine squid continues to be supported by tight supply, and the price trend remains stable in the short term. The market performance of the two squid products will still be affected by the subsequent fishing progress and inventory changes.