After seven years of consistent growth, Norway experienced a 1.2 percent drop in the value of its seafood exports last year.
In 2011, the value of the country’s seafood exports totaled NOK 53 billion, down NOK 644 million from 2010, the Norwegian Seafood Council reported on Wednesday. The volume of seafood exports also fell in 2011, down 339,000 metric tons to 2.3 million metric tons.
Farmed seafood exports — which accounted for 58.5 percent of total seafood exports — slipped to NOK 31 billion in 2011 from NOK 23 billion in 2010, due mainly to the drop in salmon and trout prices in the second half of 2011.
Last year was, however, a historic year for traditional fisheries — haddock, saithe, herring and mackerel exports all set records in terms of value in 2011, according to the council.
As for export markets, Norway’s seafood exports to the European Union — its No. 1 market — totaled NOK 30.5 billion in 2011, down NOK 366 million from 2010. Japan showed the biggest growth, as Norway’s seafood exports to that country increased NOK 404 million. The United States, however, showed the biggest decline, as seafood exports to that country plunged NOK 1.04 billion to NOK 1.7 billion.
