Price transmission and integration between the Italian and Spanish seafood markets

The characteristics of seafood markets may be strongly affected by several aspects, firstly by the biological cycles and catch trends of every fish species and secondly by several institutional features. In this paper, we provide an evaluation of how differences in catch patterns, wholesale organisation, and trade needs may influence the transmission of prices along the supply chain, using Italian and Spanish markets as a case study. Five species (sardine, European anchovy, common cuttlefish, common octopus and clam) are analysed. Results support the assumption of market integration at international level in the case of small pelagics; for octopus, there is a transmission of price signals from the retail to the first sale level, while for cuttlefish first sale prices seem to be independent and driven by local catches. The case of clam is controversial, since the analysis has not found any correlation among prices at national and international level.