New analysis from the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) shows that despite the volume of farmed Atlantic salmon exported by Norway in recent weeks remaining on par with the same period of last year, the prices paid for these products have trended downwards.
According to NSC’s latest update on the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus on Norwegian seafood exports, an increased shift in salmon exports towards processed products has been observed throughout the corona period, with larger volumes going to Japan, Israel and South Korea.
Between weeks 9 and 17, Norway’s salmon exports totaled 167,000 metric tons (MT), which was just 1,000 MT less than the same period of 2019. Within that volume, fresh whole salmon exports decreased by 2 percent and frozen whole salmon fell by 30 percent. At the same time, fresh fillets and frozen fillets increased by 8 percent and 36 percent respectively.
In terms of markets, exports of fresh whole salmon to Asia declined by 6 percent in this period, while E.U. markets sourced 1 percent less fish.
NSC analyst, Paul Aandahl explained that the export of salmon to markets that process for the grocery trade has increased during the corona period. So far, this has led salmon exports to Poland and the Netherlands to grow by 5 percent each, while the Lithuania trade has increased by 46 percent. At the same time, exports to the U.K. and Spanish markets have increased by 5 percent and 12 percent respectively.
It was also highlighted that fresh salmon fillet exports to Sweden have grown by 23 percent in the last two months.
In total, Norway exported 16,092 MT of salmon in week 17, with an average export price of NOK 55.92 (USD 5.41, EUR 4.96). This was 18 percent lower than the same week last year, Aandahl said.
“The price in euro was 31 percent lower, at EUR 4.87 (USD 5.31). After a marked fall in prices from week 9, we now see that the price development for salmon is starting to flatten out."
In the whitefish trade, Norway’s exports of fresh whole cod have declined during the coronavirus outbreak. NSC said this is due to reduced demand and reduced catches. The sector has also seen more fresh cod directed towards processing markets such as Poland and the Netherlands.
Increased demand for frozen and fresh pre-packaged products in grocery channels in several markets explains some of this growth, said NSC analyst Ingrid Kristine Pettersen.
"However, the growth in retail does not seem to outweigh the loss from the more or less full closure of the restaurant segment. This contributes to the price fall measured in NOK, from historically high levels earlier this winter to the same level as last year,” Pettersen said. “This is despite a weak Norwegian krone.”
Exports of fresh cod fell by 7 percent in week 17 compared to the same week last year, to 1,119 MT, while exports of frozen whole cod increased by 26 percent. Skrei exports decreased by 43 percent.
"We are now well into the final week of the skrei season and exports for the season are expected to fall significantly below last year's record volumes. Regardless of the weather, exports of cod have fallen significantly since the corona restrictions were implemented. The main reason is reduced demand from the restaurant segment in key markets. At the same time, there has been a positive development for skrei in grocery in Spain," Pettersen said.
In the first-quarter of 2020, Norway’s seafood exporters shipped 664,000 MT of fisheries and aquaculture products worth NOK 28.6 billion (USD 2.8 billion, EUR 2.5 billion).
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