Spanish seafood market improves

“At the seminar ‘Future consumer trends for seafood in Spain’ we wanted to show some of the opportunities we see in the Spanish market, and we would take a look at the trends and challenges ahead,” says the Norwegian Seafood Council fisheries envoy to Spain, Hilde Gunn Fure Osmundsvåg.

The seminar was held in Barcelona as part of Seafood Expo Southern Europe, which gave the Norwegian Seafood Council and Innovation Norway a valuable insight into the Spanish market.

“Innovation Norway showed that Spain would appear to be on the way out of the crisis: They have an expected GDP growth this year of 1.2 per cent, but also stable unemployment, growth in tourism, exports and sales of luxury goods. The fact that more foreign investors are now investing in Spain, is another sign that things are getting better with the economy,” says Fure Osmundsvåg.

Spain has so far this year imported 1,000 tonnes more Norwegian salmon than in 2012, and exports of fresh Norwegian cod rose by 33 per cent in 2013.