Strong month for Norwegian salmon

Norway exported seafood worth NOK 15.5 billion (£1.2bn) in March. This represents an increase of NOK 522 million, or 3%, compared with the same month last year.

“Norwegian seafood exports performed well in March, despite the war in the Middle East, a stronger Norwegian krone and a continued decline in exports to the United States. This is largely due to increased salmon volumes, higher prices for several species such as salmon, cod, mackerel and saithe, as well as further growth in exports to China,” said Christian Chramer, chief executive of the Norwegian Seafood Council.

Salmon accounted for two thirds of Norway’s seafood earnings last month. The country exported 106,000 tonnes of salmon worth NOK 10.5 billion in March.

The value of salmon exports increased by NOK 622 million, or 6%, compared with March last year, and the volume of salmon exports increased by 4%.

War dents Middle East demand

After a month of war in the Middle East, salmon exports to this region have fallen significantly.

“At the start of the war, volumes fell particularly sharply, but in the last week of March, exports to countries such as Saudi Arabia and Israel were at a near-normal level,” said seafood analyst Paul T. Aandahl at the Norwegian Seafood Council.

In March, the volume of fresh whole salmon exported to Saudi Arabia fell by 13%, to the United Arab Emirates by 33% and to Qatar by 85%.

“Exports to Israel, which buys a lot of salmon fillets from Norway, have overall fallen by 13% in volume compared with the same month last year,” said Aandahl.

More volume to east Asia

At the same time, export volumes increased to other countries in Asia.

Exports of fresh whole salmon to China rose by 61% in volume, but Thailand (+37%), South Korea (+24%) and Taiwan (+53%) also recorded strong volume growth in March compared with the same month last year.

“It is the strong growth in demand for fresh Norwegian salmon that is driving the volume growth. It is worth noting that this growth is occurring despite a rise in prices,” said Aandahl.

Decline for trout and cod

Norway exported 5,100 tonnes of trout worth NOK 512 million in March. The value fell by NOK 33m, or 6%, compared with March last year, and the volume fell by 15%.

Export volumes of fresh farmed cod fell to 1,127 tonnes in March, a 41% decline compared with the same month last year.