Export prices for Atlantic salmon from Norway have fallen again, as export volumes continued to climb, representing an expected seasonal dynamic, though Q2 price averages this year are far lower than those recorded in the same time period in previous years.
On 21 June, at the start of Week 26, average export prices for whole fresh Atlantic salmon from Norway fell to NOK 70.31 (USD 7.18, EUR 6.52) per kilogram, according to the SeafoodSource Pricing Portal.
The week-over-week (WoW) price decline, according to the same source, was minimal, amounting to only NOK 0.41 (USD 0.04, EUR 0.04), down from an average of NOK 70.72 (USD 7.23, EUR 6.56) at the start of Week 25. Price decline since the start of Q2 has been steady and significant, however, with the Pricing Portal reporting a drop of NOK 18.79 (USD 1.92, EUR 1.74) between 5 April, at the start of the quarter, when prices averaged NOK 89.10 (USD 9.10, EUR 8.26) per kilogram, and 21 June, the beginning of Week 26.
Historical data aggregated by the SeafoodSource Pricing Portal shows that a price drop in Q2 is not unprecedented, but the entire pricing trajectory started at a much lower point this year.
In 2025, for instance, according to the Pricing Portal, the Q2 price peak occurred on 2 April, when the average price climbed to NOK 98.80 (USD 10.09, EUR 9.16) per kilogram. By the beginning of Week 26, on 22 June, the average was down to NOK 76.35 (USD 7.80, EUR 7.08). In 2024, Q2 peaked at NOK 123.00 (USD 12.56, EUR 11.40) per kilogram, and fell to NOK 85.68 (USD 8.75, EUR 7.94) per kilogram by 23 June. In 2023, Q2 peaked at NOK 120.19 (USD 12.28, EUR 11.14) per kilogram, and fell to NOK 101.72 (USD 10.39, EUR 9.43) per kilogram by 18 June.
Again, the price declines are unsurprising, given that salmon producers up their exports during this period of the year. The Norwegian Salmon Council reported that Week 25 exports of Atlantic salmon out of Norway increased year over year (YoY) by 3,780 metric tons (MT), reaching 26,012 MT. That increase represented a 14.53 percent YoY increase, and a 12.87 percent WoW increase of 3,347 MT. As the image below from the SeafoodSource Pricing Portal shows, aggregate Q2 prices for all categories of Norway salmon tracked by the Pricing Portal trended downward in a relatively neat inversion of the upward trajectory of the volume increase.
Fillet prices, which in general trend much higher than prices for whole fresh or frozen fish, averaged NOK 128.03 (USD 13.08, EUR 11.87) per kilogram on 21 June, down from NOK 177.39 (USD 18.12, EUR 16.44) per kilogram one week earlier on 14 June. Large week to week price fluctuations in the fillet category, which is often dominated by the U.S. market, have been common this year.
Prices for whole frozen fish have gone up throughout Q2, however, according to the Pricing Portal. Though the category averaged NOK 77.19 (USD 7.89, EUR 7.15) per kilogram at the start of the quarter, big declines were seen a few weeks later, when the price dropped to an average of NOK 43.47 (USD 4.44, EUR 4.03) per kilogram on 19 April. Prices rebounded quickly, however, hitting an average of NOK 76.05 (USD 7.77, EUR 7.05) by the beginning of May and then peaking at NOK 83.39 (USD 8.52, EUR 7.73) per kilogram on 24 May. Since then, prices have dropped but not precipitously, with the 21 June average hitting NOK 70.71 (USD 7.22, EUR 6.55) per kilogram, only NOK 6.48 (USD 0.66, EUR 0.60) per kilogram down from its average at the start of the quarter.
The Sitagri Salmon Index, which sets a weekly benchmark based on the FCA Oslo sale prices of several major Norwegian producers for fresh, whole HOG salmon, saw low prices but not much WoW fluctuation. The firm put the price for all sizes in the category at NOK 66.26 (USD 6.77, EUR 6.14) per kilogram, the same rate as the previous week. The firm put its 3- to 6-kilogram size price at NOK 67.10 (USD 6.86, EUR 6.22), down NOK 0.11 (USD 0.01, EUR 0.01) from the previous week.
According to Sitagri, smaller fish lost value this week while larger fish actually saw prices grow.
All fish smaller than the 4- to 5-kilogram size lost value, with the smallest fish, weighing 1- to 2-kilograms, experiencing the biggest average price decline of NOK 2.08 (USD 0.21, EUR 0.19) to come to an average price per kilogram of NOK 52.82 (USD 5.40, EUR 4.90).
3- to 5-kilogram salmon, which made up the largest distribution of the salmon exported, lost minimal value in Week 25 (less than NOK 0.70 (USD 0.07, EUR 0.06) in all categories).
Salmon weighing 5 to 6 kilograms and above gained some value this week (less than NOK 2.60 (USD 0.27, EUR 0.24) in all categories).
6- to 7-kilogram salmon achieved the highest prices in Week 25, with an average of NOK 69.08 (USD 7.06, EUR 6.40) per kilogram.
Fish Pool reported that near-term forward prices continue to trend downwards. July 2026 prices sat at EUR 6,300 (USD 7,293, NOK 68,007) per MT, with forward prices falling each month until October, when they were priced at EUR 5,860 (USD 6,784, NOK 63,267).
Q1 2027 held steady from last week at EUR 8,300 (USD 9,611, NOK 89,597) per MT, while Q2 2027 and Q3+Q4 2027 increased in price, at EUR 7,967 (USD 9,226, NOK 85,993) and EUR 6,567 (USD 7,605, NOK 70,878) per MT respectively. Annual contracts for 2027 and 2028 remained at EUR 7,350 (USD 8,511, NOK 79,337) and EUR 7,540 (USD 8,731, NOK 81,387) per MT, consistent with last week’s prices.
