The start of the first non-stop flights between Avinor Oslo Airport and Beijing, China, is expected to be a welcome boost for Norwegian seafood exporters, coming in the wake of the collapse of a deal to construct a new seafood hub at the airport.
Operated by Hainan Airlines, the new route is expected to transport around NOK 200 million (USD 23 million, EUR 20.5 million) of seafood to the Chinese capital every year.
“This route affords even better opportunities for increased export of fresh Norwegian seafood to the Chinese market, where demand for high quality seafood is large and increasing,” Norway Minister of Fisheries Harald Nesvik said during the launch party for the service at Avinor. “Because seafood consumption in China is greater than Norway’s entire annual production, the potential is huge.”
The service comes just days after it was reported that that a deal with cargo handler Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) for the operation of the new seafood center at the airport had fallen through.
Last year, a memorandum of understanding was signed between WFS and Sjømatterminalen AS to operate the facility, which was projected to handle up to 250,000 metric tons (MT) of seafood annually. Construction was expected to start in the first half of this year, with the terminal opening in 2021.
The Hainan Airlines isn’t the only new service from Oslo that’s supplying seafood to the Chinese market. In January, Slovakian air freight company Air Cargo Global started its new direct route to Tianjin Binhai International Airport.
Air Cargo Global has a service agreement in place with Chinese trading company Fish Forever.
In 2018, Oslo’s airport handled approximately 230,000 MT of seafood products.
Photo courtesy of Avinor.
