U.S. Inflation Is Boosting Sales Of Frozen And Canned Seafood

Fresh seafood prices rose an average of 12.1% year on year to $8.51 per unit in March 2022, up 10.9% month-on-month, according to new data from IRI and 210 Analytics.

The price increases contributed to a 10.4% drop in fresh seafood sales to $505 million in March, with fresh shellfish sales down 27.8%. Sales of crabs, lobsters, tilapia and catfish fell the most in March by 34%, 27%, 21.6% and 16.4%, respectively.

Anne-marie Roerink, head of analytics firm 210, said sanctions against Russia would have a direct impact on crab, cod and Alaskan cod prices.

Frozen seafood outpaced fresh seafood sales in March, rising 1.1 percent to $605 million, while canned seafood sales also rose 9.2 percent to $222 million.

Frozen and canned seafood has two advantages over fresh in these inflationary times, but the biggest advantage is shelf-life. Fresh seafood needs to be eaten or frozen within a few days of purchase, and frozen and canned seafood carries little risk of waste.

The survey found that many consumers believe frozen food is cheaper than fresh food. In some cases this is true, in others there really isn't much of a difference, and what's more, frozen and canned foods are cheaper per unit, which highlights the price advantage.

Inflation isn't just affecting seafood prices, with unit prices for all food and beverage items in supermarkets, clubs, hypermarkets, supercenters, medicine and military stores measured by IRI rising an average of 10.3% in March, according to IRI and 210 Analytics.

Inflation has hit a 40-year high, analysts say, and consumers are well aware of that. Inflation has had a far bigger impact on national food spending than COVID-19.