Norwegian salmon exports reached a record NOK 4.8 billion (USD 721.7 million, EUR 545.1 million) in the first quarter of 2009, up 18.7 percent from the same period in 2008, the Norwegian Seafood Export Council reported on Tuesday.
The increase in the value of Norwegian salmon exports is due to an average per-kilogram price increase of NOK 3.60 (USD 0.54, EUR 0.41) and a 10,000-metric-ton jump in the country's farmed salmon production, compared to last year, said Egil Ove Sundheim, the council's director of market information.
Additionally, Chile's struggles with the infectious salmon anemia virus, which has curbed output there, has bolstered demand for Norwegian salmon, particularly in the United States.
The European Union imports 72 percent of Norwegian salmon exports; France is the No. 1 market, though Poland is quickly emerging as processor and re-exporter of Norwegian salmon.
Perhaps the strongest growth potential for Norwegian salmon is in the United States. Due to Chile's troubles, the United States is increasingly turning to Norway for farmed salmon.
In the first quarter of 2009, U.S. imports of Norwegian salmon totaled NOK 206 million (USD 31 million, EUR 23.4 million), up a whopping 168 percent from last year. In March alone, U.S. imports of Norwegian salmon soared from just 684 metric tons in 2008 to 3,363 metric tons this year. Fresh fillets represent the bulk of U.S. imports of Norwegian salmon.
Norwegian trout exports also increased to NOK 480 million (USD 72.2 million, EUR 54.5 million), in the first quarter of 2009, up NOK 117 million from 2008. The increase is due primarily to an average per-kilogram price increase of NOK 5.40 (USD 0.81, EUR 0.61).
April 13, 2009
