Norway’s seafood exporters appear to have done good business in China last year, with solid growth in monetary terms even though volumes in some categories were down, according to a breakdown of data provided to SeafoodSource by the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), a body representing the industry.
Sales of salmon (whole, head-on, head off) totaled 8,876 metric tons (MT), up 14 percent from 7,609 tons recorded the previous year. In value terms there was better growth of 12.6 percent compared to the mere 0.4 percent increase recorded for 2013.
Overall shipments at 194,706 MT were up from 163,346 MT in 2013. In value terms overall shipments grew 28 percent to NOK 3.1 billion (USD 409 million; EUR 363 million). These figures represent an achievement for the NSC, given that the ongoing chill in political relations between Beijing and Oslo continues to dog access to the market for Norwegian goods. The bulk of Norway’s shipments to China are for the country’s giant processing sector — although the NSC is working hard to make cod more accepted for domestic consumption.
The biggest growth was recorded for mackerel, which grew 36 percent in volume terms to 81,923 MT while shipments of cod were up 9.6 percent in volume to 48,064 MT. Cod sales to China totaled NOK 877.32 million (USD 112.8 million, EUR 100.26 million) while mackerel sales fetched NOK 819.55 million (USD 105 million, EUR 93.6 million): This means the value of mackerel sales to China grew 43.7 percent, according to the NSC data, while cod sales were worth 32.8 percent more overall, compared to 2013 sales.
Likewise, even though haddock shipments were down in volume terms from 21,466 MT to 18,834 MT, there was an impressive 16 percent year-on-year growth in value terms. There was similarly a drop in volume terms for saithe, from 11,423 MT to 10,811 MT but Norwegian exporters enjoyed a 22.5 percent increase in value terms for saithe shipped to China.
While China continues to grow in stature as an export market it’s a long way off the importance of the first-placed EU, which buys 62 percent of Norway’s seafood exports. Despite the collapse of the Russian export market due to sanctions this year, the Norwegian seafood industry has shown it can adapt to meet the needs of new markets.
The result has been record export figures for salmon, cod and mackerel, said Terje Martinussen, CEO of the NSC. “Norwegian seafood has never enjoyed a stronger position in the world market,” he said.
Norwegian seafood exporters look set to do well in China this year given the continued growth in popularity of sushi and sashimi dining. Likewise, sales of salmon have not been overly affected by the government’s ongoing anti-corruption drive thanks to the increasing sophistication of online retailing as an avenue to the country’s young and middle class consumers.
