Norway’s seafood export value reached a new high in January with the U.S. accounting for nearly 10 percent of total exports.
Data shared by the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) indicates the country exported NOK 15.3 billion (USD 1.36 billion, EUR 1.31 billion) worth of seafood in January 2025, an increase of 14 percent, or NOK 1.9 billion (USD 169 million, EUR 162 million), over the same month of 2024. The increase was largely thanks to higher export volumes of salmon, and value growth for wild-caught species like mackerel.
“In addition, the Norwegian krone has weakened against both the dollar and the euro compared with January last year,” NSC CEO Christian Chramer said.
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump hinting at potential tariffs and trade barriers, the U.S. was the largest export market for Norwegian seafood. The country imported NOK 1.5 billion (USD 133 million, EUR 128 million) worth of seafood in January, which is 9.7 percent of the country’s total export value.
“Even though President Donald Trump has talked a lot about increased tariffs for his trading partners, we note that January was a historic month for Norwegian seafood exports to the U.S.,” Chramer said. “Never has Norway exported fish and shellfish worth as much to the U.S. market as we did in January. This shows that seafood is also important for Norway in trade with the U.S."
The record-high sales to the U.S. in January 2025 came on the back of record-high sales growth. According to the NSC, export value to the U.S. increased by NOK 428 million (USD 38 million, EUR 36 million), or 41 percent, compared to January 2024.
“Over time, the USA has developed into one of our most important individual markets,” Chramer said. "In January alone, we sold more than NOK 1 billion [USD 89 million, EUR 85 million] worth of salmon to the USA, which is a new value record. This emphasizes the importance of having the best possible trade agreements, including with the USA.”
Part of that increased growth in exports to the U.S. was the increased sales of king crab, which spiked in value 81 percent to NOK 105 million (USD 9.3 million, EUR 8.9 million). The U.S. has continued to ban all seafood imports from Russia – a major source of king crab globally – and its own fishery is still recovering after low abundance closed it for two years.
Norway’s total exports of king crab actually fell 2 percent by volume to 174 MT, however value increased 36 percent to NOK 130 million (USD 11.5 million, EUR 11.1 million).
While king crab increased the most among the top species by value sent to the U.S., salmon was overwhelmingly the highest value species. Norway shipped NOK 1.1 billion (USD 98 million, EUR 94 million) worth of salmon to the U.S. in January 2025, a major increase in value of 39 percent year over year.
"The strong growth in exports of salmon and trout to the U.S.A. is partly due to the fact that there was a lot of fish of the right size and quality available for the U.S. market in January,” NSC’s envoy to the U.S. Anne-Kristine Øen said. “The further weakening of the Norwegian krone against the U.S. dollar is also a factor.”
China was second behind the U.S. in terms of value growth …
