At the end of 2025, the Russian pollock raw material market continued to maintain a strong momentum. Although prices slightly declined this week, they still remained at the highest level in history overall, indicating that the market's high-level operation pattern has not changed against the backdrop of global raw material tightness and the continuous growth of processing demand.
According to the latest quotations provided by several export enterprises and Chinese importers, the price of Russian head and offal (H&G) pollock frozen products arriving in China (CFR China) in the 52nd week of 2025 (December 22nd to 28th) slightly decreased by about 30 US dollars per ton compared with last week, but still remained at the highest point for the same period in history. Data shows that the quotations for 25+ size Russian pollock have remained at a high level for several consecutive weeks, reaching a new year-end high since records began in 2005. Even compared with the high-price stage before the 2008 international financial crisis, the current price level has clearly exceeded the peak of that year.
Despite the persistently high prices, the trading activity has dropped significantly. Three Russian exporters and two trading enterprises that have long cooperated with Chinese factories all stated that the current market transaction volume is relatively low, and many buyers and sellers have chosen to wait and see. Due to the excessively high spot prices, some Russian sellers have suspended their quotations, waiting for the market signals to become clearer next year. An exporter from the Far East pointed out, "We don't plan to sign a new contract at this price. The spot price is too high and signing a long-term agreement is too risky."
Meanwhile, Chinese processing plants still maintain a certain purchasing pace, but more often adopt the strategy of locking in some long-term resources in advance. According to industry sources, some contracts for delivery in January 2026 have been finalized, with transaction prices generally ranging from 130 to 180 US dollars per ton lower than the current spot level. Chinese enterprises generally believe that despite the high price pressure, considering the stable orders for subsequent processed products such as pollock suri and fish fillets, it is still necessary to ensure the uninterrupted supply of raw materials.
In Russia, some export enterprises adhere to a sales strategy of "spot market dominance", believing that the spot market will remain strong in the first half of 2026. A representative of a large fishery group from the Far East said, "The market remains tight and the room for price decline is limited." We would rather sign fewer contracts than fail to ensure profits. It is also reported that some exporters plan to postpone price negotiations with Chinese customers and reassess the market situation after the fishing season begins in the A quarter of next year.
Overall, the Russian pollock market concluded its annual trading at the end of 2025 with a pattern of both high prices and low transactions. Although prices eased slightly compared to last week, the year-end average price still set a new historical record, marking the strongest closing performance in the past two decades. It is widely believed in the industry that this trend has set a tone of "high start and stable progress" for the global pollock trade in 2026, and also indicates that a new round of competition among the Chinese and Russian, European and American markets regarding raw material procurement and processing profits is about to unfold.
