Short†term salmon price forecasting

This study establishes a benchmark for short†term salmon price forecasting. The weekly spot price of Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon is predicted 1–5 weeks ahead using data from 2007 to 2014. Sixteen alternative forecasting methods are considered, ranging from classical time series models to cus...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Forecasting
Main Author: Daumantas Bloznelis
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/for.2482
Description
Summary:This study establishes a benchmark for short†term salmon price forecasting. The weekly spot price of Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon is predicted 1–5 weeks ahead using data from 2007 to 2014. Sixteen alternative forecasting methods are considered, ranging from classical time series models to customized machine learning techniques to salmon futures prices. The best predictions are delivered by k†nearest neighbors method for 1 week ahead; vector error correction model estimated using elastic net regularization for 2 and 3 weeks ahead; and futures prices for 4 and 5 weeks ahead. While the nominal gains in forecast accuracy over a naïve benchmark are small, the economic value of the forecasts is considerable. Using a simple trading strategy for timing the sales based on price forecasts could increase the net profit of a salmon farmer by around 7%.