Norway’s seafood export value dropped in May, ending 10 straight months of year-over-year growth as low salmon prices pushed down overall values.
Norway exported NOK 13.6 billion (USD 1.3 billion, EUR 1.2 billion) worth of seafood in May, a drop of 2 percent, or NOK 267 million (USD 26.4 million, EUR 23.1 million), over the same month in 2024. The drop is the first since June 2024, when a similar drop in salmon prices caused a “historic” drop in seafood export values.
“Increased salmon production in Norway and globally resulted in lower prices and a slightly lower total value for May,” Norwegian Seafood Council CEO Christian Chramer said. “This is the main reason for the decline in the export value of Norwegian seafood in May.”
Salmon exports increased a whopping 38 percent by volume in May 2025, reaching 112,846 metric tons (MT) in the month, up sharply from the 82,662 metric tons (MT) it exported in May 2024.
Despite the volume growth, the value of salmon exports dropped to NOK 9.8 billion (USD 971 million, EUR 850 million) in May 2025, down by NOK 145 million (USD 14 million, EUR 12 million), or 1 percent, compared to May 2024. That volume growth and value drop highlighted the big drop in prices.
According to the NSC, the average price per kilogram of fresh whole salmon fell to NOK 75.78 (USD 7.51, EUR 6.57) in May 2025, a drop of 35 percent from the NOK 116.68 (USD 11.56, EUR 10.12) it fetched in May 2024. NSC said the NOK 40.88 (USD 4.05, EUR 3.54) per kilogram price drop is the largest drop ever recorded by the NSC.
"Record-high export volumes for the month of May, as a result of better production conditions, have led to a record-breaking weakening of the salmon price this year compared with last year," NSC Seafood Analyst Paul T. Aandahl said. “Most of the volume growth has gone out as fresh whole salmon.”
A much larger portion of those exports are heading to the United States, the NSC reported. Norway exported 7,019 MT of salmon to the U.S. in May 2025, up 63 percent from May 2024. Exports to China similarly spiked, rising 181 percent to 8,273 MT.
“Good access to large whole salmon, changing competitive conditions and increased demand have led to a shift in the flow of goods from Europe to overseas markets,” Aandahl said. “Measured in value, 67 percent of salmon went to Europe. Last year, the share was 71 percent. 21 percent of salmon went to Asia, up from 19 percent, while 11 percent went to North America, up from 8 percent.”
Exports to both the U.S. and China are up in 2025. So far this year, Norway has exported 33,870 MT of salmon to China worth NOK 3.2 billion (USD 317 million, EUR 277 million), an increase in volume of 123 percent and an increase in value of 58 percent.
“Competitive pricing is a key driver of growth, along with underlying growth, especially in new emerging digital sales channels,” NSC Envoy to China Sigmund Bjørgo said.
Norway has exported even more salmon to the U.S., reaching 36,000 MT worth NOK 5.4 billion (USD 535 million, EUR 468 million) so far in 2025, increases of 56 percent and 40 percent respectively.
"In a market that is relatively stable, it is gratifying to see that Norwegian salmon's growth trend is continuing," NSC U.S. Seafood Envoy Karine Rød Haraldsson said.
The U.S. was Norway’s fastest growing market overall. The country exported NOK 1.4 billion (USD 138 million, EUR 121 million) worth of seafood to the U.S. in May 2025, up 40 percent year over year. That increase was partially attributable to a massive increase in snow crab export value.
“In addition to salmon, snow crab is doing well in the U.S. Overall, snow crab exports were at a record high in May, with an export value of NOK 221 million [USD 22 million, EUR 19 million], of which 59 percent went to the USA,” Chramer said.
Norway exported NOK 129 million (USD 12 million, EUR 11 million) in snow crab to the U.S. an increase of 351 percent by value year over year.
Another of Norway’s main export species, cod, saw volumes decrease but values increase on high pricing. Norway exported NOK 212 million (USD 21 million, EUR 18 million) in fresh cod in May, an increase of 14 percent. By volume, the country exported 2,917 MT of fresh cod, a drop of 3 percent year over year.
The volume drop was largely due to a 16 percent drop in fresh wild exports, which fell to 1,685 MT. Farmed cod, meanwhile, grew to 1,232 MT, an increase of 24 percent year over year. Farmed cod export value increased even more, reaching NOK 86 million (USD 8.5 million, EUR 7.4 million), up 44 percent and accounting for 40 percent of Norway’s total fresh cod export value in May 2025.
Frozen cod, meanwhile, saw drops in both value and volume. Norway exported 3,438 MT of frozen cod worth NOK 279 million (USD 27 million, EUR 24 million) in May 2025, drops of 25 percent and 5 percent respectively.
Despite that drop, the country’s exports to the U.K. have increased, with a significant portion of Norway’s total frozen cod exports going to the country.
“So far this year, as much as 39 percent of Norwegian exports of frozen cod have gone to the U.K. This is the highest share since 2000,” NSC Analyst Eivind Hestvik Brækkan said. “The relatively strong development of our largest market for frozen cod shows that the British will continue to have their fish and chips, even with higher cod prices and lower Norwegian landings.”
Increases to the U.K. were countered by decreases in China, he said.
“So far this year, 22 percent of Norwegian exports of frozen cod have gone to China. This is the lowest share since 2015,” Brækkan said. “The same trend continued in May, with only 20 percent of Norwegian exports of frozen cod going to China.”
While low prices hurt salmon export values, the opposite was true for Norway’s mackerel exports. Norway exported 5,075 MT of mackerel worth NOK 286 million (USD 28 million, EUR 24 million) in May 2025, a drop of 19 percent by volume but an increase of 6 percent by value.
“May is the low season for mackerel exports. A tight supply situation and strong demand are keeping the price of mackerel at a high level," Aandahl said.
The story was similar for herring. Norway exported 8,487 MT of herring worth NOK 190 million (USD 18 million, EUR 16 million) in May 2025, a decrease of 5 percent by volume and an increase of 4 percent by value.
“In May, herring exports continued the trend we saw earlier this year, with a general decline in volume and an increase in price,” Aandahl said.
