Scots frustrated by Norwegian imports
Figures released yesterday by the Norwegian Seafood Council reveal that the UK has been the EU’s third largest export market for Norwegian salmon in the first quarter of the year.
Responding to the news, Scott Landsburgh, Chief Executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO), told Fish Farming Expert: “Norwegian salmon enjoys a large and growing share of the UK market simply because Scottish production is now not sufficient to meet growing public demand. We are working hard to grow our production, but challenges posed by our regulatory and planning systems prevent us growing at a rate sufficient to meet retailers’ requirements.”
The UK’s appetite for Norwegian salmon, was behind only that of Poland and France, and the British market had the strongest growth, both in terms of value and volume, within the EU. In the first quarter, 19,700 tonnes of Norwegian salmon worth £75 million was imported to the UK. This corresponds to an increase of 36 per cent by volume and 37 per cent by value year-on-year.
Norway produces around 1.2 million tonnes of salmon a year, which dwarves the 163,234 tonnes produced by Scotland in 2013, and this disparity, combined with a drop in the value of the krone compared to the pound and the fact that many Scottish firms are exploring lucrative export markets, makes it likely that Britain will continue to snap up Norwegian imports for the foreseeable future.
