© Stolt Sea Farm
Since then, the company says that it has built a sustained recovery in both volumes and prices. Although not completely back to pre-pandemic levels, turbot sales have improved by 17 percent, while sole volumes are up by over 100 percent, thanks to the strong production of sole at their new farm, at Cervo, in Spain.
Operations at Cervo and the company’s other new farm at Tocha, in Portugal continue to exceed expectations, resulting in lower average cost of production and higher output levels.
Prices for turbot and sole remained stable for much of the quarter. However, towards the end of May the price of both began to recover, following an increase in demand and a limited supply of turbot, as well as the end of the wild-catch season for sole. Prices for both species are now at levels close to those last seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I am very pleased to see that our new farms at Cervo and Tocha are both performing beyond our expectations. Our focus and investment in our recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) is delivering great results. Biomass growth at both farms is better than our initial forecasts, and we expect to harvest our first sole at Tocha next month, four months ahead of schedule. This additional volume will be a welcome boost as we have seen a rapid rise in prices during the past month, which we expect to continue throughout the peak summer season,” said Jordi Trias, president Stolt Sea Farm, in a press release.
