Portugal – a seafood friend in south

By Gustav Erik Blaalid gustav@kyst.no

This figure is dwarfed by the amount of Norwegian cod imported by the Portuguese, who consume approximately 100,000 tonnes of salted dried Norwegian cod – the equivalent of 230,000 tonnes of round weight cod, or almost 10kg per person – annually. In that context, Norway is in itself a brand: Bacalhau da Noruega is a term that more than 70 per cent of consumers in Portugal are aware of. Salmon sales will increase The Norwegian Seafood Council’s experienced representative in Portugal, Christian Bue Nordahl may have spent a few years outside the industry – including a stint as sales and marketing director of the famous Norwegian coastal cruise liner, Hurtigruten – but the seafood industry has always lured him back. “During the financial crisis, which occurred in 2008, we saw salmon consumption levelling off in Portugal, but this was a temporary trend. In the longer term we can say that the financial crisis and the euro crisis have not played any negative role in the Portuguese seafood consumption, and levels of consumption now are above what they were before these crises,” says Bue Nordahl. “As of November 2014 Portugal imported 13,255 tonnes (round weight) of Norwegian salmon. That is an increase of 25 per cent compared to the same period last year, and the trade is now worth almost exactly half a billion NOK a year,” says Bue Nordahl, who maintains that 2014 will be another record year for salmon exports to Portugal.

Aino helps A well-known salmon farmer in Norway, Aino Olaisen, has acquired a central role in the Norwegian Seafood Council’s salmon campaigns in Portugal. Her figure (albeit in cardboard) greets customers in Portuguese supermarkets and in the Norwegian embassy meeting facilities. We do not know whether it is purely thanks to Aino’s efforts, but a survey by the Norwegian Seafood Council found that 22 per cent of respondents said they prefer salmon, while 20 per cent claimed to prefer cod. “We have placed great emphasis on connecting salmon to Norway and the strong position Bacalhau da Noruega has in Portugal has helped us to build «Salmão da Noruega» as a brand. In addition, we campaign on the same values that the Portuguese associate with cod – marketing salmon as a pure and good product from the cold north,” explains Bue Nordahl, which is where Aino Olaisen plays an important role in the story.” “They are also inspired by the fact that we Norwegians look to Portuguese recipes when preparing the famous bacalao – where rehydrated, dried salted cod is the most important ingredient – while they look to Norway when buying the raw material.”

Effective campaigns The increased popularity of salmon can partially be attributed to the campaigns that the Norwegian Seafood Council have run over the years. Also, as people spend less time cooking, salmon products that require less preparation are becoming increasingly marketed, while the sushi trend is keenly felt in Portugal as elsewhere in the Western world. “Previously sales of whole salmon were most common, but now its diced salmon as well as steaks and fillets which are the most popular,” says Bue Nordahl. “In a survey where consumers were asked how they prefer to prepare salmon, 76 per cent said they prefer steaks. But gradually it has become more and more common to prepare salmon in other ways. Among other things, the sale of salmon cubes, which are used in pasta dishes, has increased, as have sales of skin- bone-less fillets, while sales of whole fish have dropped sharply.”