Norwegian seafood exporters are confident that a record export value will be achieved this year following confirmation that they shipped products worth NOK 7.4 billion (EUR 800 million; USD 868.1 million) last month, an increase of 12 percent or NOK 804 million (EUR 86.9 million; USD 94.5 million) year-on-year.
The Scandinavian country’s exports for the January through November 2015 period totaled NOK 67.3 billion (EUR 7.3 billion; USD 7.9 billion), an increase of 8 percent or NOK 4.9 billion (EUR 529.9 million; USD 575 million) year-on-year.
“At the start of December, seafood exports for the year to date were NOK 1.5 billion (EUR 162.2 million; USD 176 million) under the export totals for the whole of 2014. We are expecting normal export volumes in December, so expect 2015 to be a record year for the Norwegian seafood industry. The demand for Norwegian seafood has been very strong, especially from the EU countries. Here we have attracted many new consumers in key markets such as France and Poland, which have also been the biggest buyers of Norwegian salmon so far this year,” said Marit Rein, acting director of communications for the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC).
“This year, we have also seen increases in saltfish, clipfish, fresh and frozen cod. While herring exports have shown a small decline, mackerel exports in November increased by NOK 16 million (EUR 1.7 million; USD 1.9 million),” she said.
Salmon exports last month totaled NOK 4.5 billion (EUR 486 million; USD 527.9 million), an increase of 17 percent or NOK 662 million (EUR 71.6 million; USD 77.6 million) compared to November 2014. This total was largely due to the higher average market price for fresh whole salmon, which increased from NOK 40.67 (EUR 4.40; USD 4.77) a year ago to NOK 44.92 (EUR 4.86; USD 5.27) per kg last month.
For the year to date, salmon exports totaled NOK 42.7 billion (EUR 4.6 billion; USD 5 billion), an increase of 8 percent or NOK 3.2 billion (EUR 345.9 million; USD 375.2 million), compared with the January through November period in 2014.
Trout exports totaled NOK 276 million (EUR 29.8 million; USD 32.4 million) last month, an increase of 57 percent or NOK 99 million (EUR 10.7 million; USD 11.6 million) compared to November 2014.
So far this year, Norway’s trout exports have totaled NOK 2 billion (EUR 216.2 million; USD 234.6 million), representing a decline of 8 percent or NOK 179 million (EUR 19.3 million; USD 21 million) year-on-year.
Last month, exports of fresh cod (including fillets) achieved a total export value of NOK 94 million (EUR 10.2 million; USD 11 million), representing a small increase on the total achieved in November 2014. Frozen cod exports also increased by a modest value to NOK 265 million (EUR 28.6 million; USD 31.1 million), with 61 percent going to the EU and 33 percent to the Chinese market.
Norway’s saltfish and clipfish export values for the January through November 2015 period totaled NOK 1.1 billion (EUR 118.9 million; USD 129 million) and NOK 3.7 billion (EUR 400 million; USD 434 million), respectively.
