Norway exported farmed salmon worth NOK 4.3 billion (EUR 458.3 million; USD 514.6 million) last month, an increase of 22 percent or NOK 780 million (EUR 83.1 million; USD 93.4 million) year-on-year, thanks largely to growing demand in the EU.
In volume terms, the Scandinavian country’s salmon exports increased by 6 percent or 5,000 metric tons (MT) to 95,000 MT in September.
For the first nine months of this year, Norway exported 748,000 MT of salmon, an increase of 3.8 percent year-on-year. These exports achieved a total value of NOK 33.6 billion (EUR 3.6 billion; USD 4 billion), an increase of 6 percent or NOK 1.9 billion (EUR 202.5 million; USD 227.4 million) year-on-year.
“A combination of increased volume and considerably higher prices are the reasons for the rise in salmon export income. There is strong and continuing demand for fresh Norwegian salmon from our neighboring markets in EU,” said Paul Aandahl, salmon and trout analyst with the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC).
Norwegian salmon exports to the EU totaled NOK 3.2 billion (EUR 341.1 million; USD 382.9 million) last month, based on a volume of 74,500 MT, representing increases of 30 percent and 12 percent respectively, compared with September 2014.
In the first nine months of 2015, Norway’s exported NOK 24.8 billion (EUR 2.6 billion; USD 3 billion) worth of salmon to the EU, an increase of 14 percent year-on-year. In volume terms, this trade totaled 571,000 MT, which was 63,000 MT more than the same period last year.
The biggest European buyers of Norwegian salmon so far this year have been Poland and France.
Norway has also grown its salmon exports to both Asia and the United States this year.
In the first nine months, its exports to Asian markets totaled NOK 5.3 billion (EUR 564.9 million; USD 634.2 million), an increase of 13 percent year-on-year, based on a total volume of 111,000 MT.
Its exports to the U.S. market for the same period totaled NOK 1.8 billion (EUR 191.9 million; USD 215.4 million), up NOK 430 million (EUR 45.8 million; USD 51.5 million), compared with the same period in 2014. Measured by volume, this trade increased by 38 percent to 27,500 MT.
The average export price for Norwegian salmon in the first nine months of this year was NOK 41.73 (EUR 4.45; USD 4.99) per kg, 1 percent higher than in the same period of 2014.
While Norway’s salmon exports have grown steadily throughout this year, it has been a different story for its trout.
For the first nine months of this year, Norwegian trout exports totaled NOK 1.5 billion (EUR 160 million; USD 179.5 million), down 14 percent or NOK 254 million (EUR 27.1 million; USD 30.4 million) year-on-year. In volume terms, these exports totaled 35,000 MT, down 3,300 MT compared with the same period of last year.
