This week’s wholesale pricing assessments were published prior to President Trump’s latest announcement, which institutes a 90-day pause on the full implementation of reciprocal tariffs. During this period, all countries previously assigned tariff rates above 10% will instead be subject to a uniform 10% tariff. However, China is excluded from this pause and will now face an increased tariff of 125%, effective immediately.

Market sentiment and pricing behavior are expected to shift in the coming days as the industry digests these developments and reassesses exposure. Updates will be provided in the next reporting cycle as further clarity emerges.

Undercurrent News' week 15 (April 7-13) US wholesale price assessments for various key commodities are available on our new platform, to which UCN has just added new farmed Canadian and Norwegian farmed salmon, live lobster, wild Mexican shrimp and octopus data. 

Steep new tariffs, especially on various Asian countries, are causing US importers to move up wholesale prices on various species in week 15.

Even though products shipped before April 5 and April 9 have until May 27 to avoid the first 10% and then full tariffs (for countries over 10%), importers in the US are seemingly reacting on some species already, as you can see on the US wholesale platform.

"The shrimp market sees substantial price premiums across nearly the whole category. Once the reality of the tariff situation hit, especially where they were higher, and replacement was more difficult, changes were sharper," said Gary Morrison, UCN's head of business development, in his week 15 shrimp market wrap-up. 

Shrimp - US wholesale prices, week 15

White Shrimp

Asia

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Headless Shell-On, Blocks Frozen	$/lb.	avg. $/lb.	$ change	% change

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"The greatest degree of change was for Asian-origin shrimp, both species," he said.

"There were changes in the category, but with Ecuador only seeing a baseline tariff of 10%, this area is a clear winner as buyers are increasing calls to importers to test their appetite for selling," said Morrison.

For farmed salmon, fresh D-trim fillets from Norway surged 12-13% week-on-week, with Chilean prices also up.

Norway is currently subject to a 15% US tariff, implemented in two phases (10% on April 5 and another 5% on April 9), which initially caused some confusion and mispricing," said Lorin Castiglione, head of price reporting for North America with UCN, in her salmon price assessment and wrap-up. 

"While Chile still faces a lower 10% US tariff relative to other countries, its dependence on the US retail channel and limited redirection options continue to make it one of the most exposed suppliers. Some Chilean producers have adjusted pricing to reflect cost burdens, particularly in foodservice-focused SKUs," said Castiglione.

Meanwhile, prices for Canadian fillets were stable and whole fish were down, as Canadian seafood is still moving duty-free.

US wholesale prices for Vietnamese pangasius fillets were up 9-10% w-o-w with Chinese tilapia rising up to 5% for the smaller size fillets. Prices for the smaller volume Chinese catfish surged 17-18% w-o-w.

"The pangasius market has firmed as a result of both tight raw material supply and the new 46% tariff on Vietnamese-origin product," said Castiglione in her farmed whitefish price assessment and wrap-up. 

"Processors report constrained harvest volumes through at least June. While broader market prices had previously remained stable, the new tariff layer is starting to move the needle, with buyers increasingly factoring in elevated replacement costs."

Chinese-origin frozen tilapia is now subject to a cumulative 129% tariff, combining the original 25% from 2018 with the new 104% layer announced in April 2025. The Trump administration had added 20% tariffs to China, taking tilapia to 45%, even before the reciprocal tariffs.

For products shipped between 12.01 am eastern daylight time (EDT) on April 5 and 12.01 am EDT April 9 will have an extra 10% on the original 45%, if they arrive in the US before May 27 at 12:01 am EDT.

Then, for shipments after April 9, the full 129% will apply to tilapia, and catfish.

"With cumulative tariffs now totaling 129%, catfish imports from China are becoming significantly more expensive, and with smaller overall volume compared to tilapia, the impact is being felt more acutely," said Castiglione.

The high tariffs on Indonesia and the Philippines of 32% and 18% mean wholesale prices for octopus from these origins is rising.

"While prices for Spanish octopus are unchanged this week, importers are taking a bullish stance despite recent resistance to the elevated pricing. The broad and steep price increases on products from the Philippines and Indonesia are an additional backstop to this position," said Morrison, in his cephalopod wrap-up and price assessment. 

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UCN publishes its price assessments and market wrap-ups for crab, cephalopods, salmon, shrimp, frozen lobster, groundfish, farmed whitefish and scallops every Wednesday. On Monday, UCN publishes a market pulse, giving a sense of the week ahead. 

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Click below for the links to each sector update:

• Various species of crab and pasteurized and fresh crab meat
• Atlantic salmon, now featuring Canadian, Chilean and Norwegian
• Asian and Latin American farmed shrimp, Argentine reds and wild Mexican
• Frozen lobster tails and meat, and live lobster 
• Various species of frozen groundfish such as cod, haddock, pollock and sole
• Frozen and fresh tilapia and frozen pangasius
• Canadian, Chinese, Japanese and US scallops
• Octopus from Spain, Indonesia and the Philippines 

Below, you can watch a video explaining how to use the platform.