Analysis of supply and demand in the international market of major abalone fisheries and aquaculture production

Abalone (Haliotis spp.) is a highly demanded product due to its quality. Although abalone production volume is not as high relative to other seafood products, it is highly valued; it amounted to nearly 2.6 billion dollars in 2017. Previously, global abalone production depended primarily on fisheries, but now days it relies mostly on aquaculture; today, over 95% of abalone production comes from aquaculture. Several factors govern the price of abalone in the international market, including production and export volumes, among others. Therefore, it is of interest to elucidate the factors that drive abalone supply and demand. We used exports and imports data of the major abalone producers to investigate the market behavior using non-parametric statistical analyses and historical and current abalone production data worldwide. Our findings confirm the existence of significant correlations between the various mechanisms governing the abalone demand, supply, and price. It was found that the supply behavior (catch-price) of Mexican and Australian abalone was adjusted to the bioeconomic model of the backward-bending supply curve for fisheries, due to overexploitation or the establishment of catch quotas.