Norway exported a record 2.7 million metric tons (MT) of fisheries and aquaculture products worth an all-time high of NOK 99 billion (USD 11.5 billion, EUR 10.1 billion) in 2018, with the volume and value increasing by four percent and five percent, respectively, compared with the previous year.
The new figures were welcomed by Norwegian officials, who see it as a positive sign for the country’s seafood sector.
“Once again, a new record has been set for Norwegian seafood exports. We have every reason to be proud of that. This is a good and significant result for the Norwegian economy,” Norway’s Fisheries Minister Harald Tome Nesvik said. “While the value of exports has increased by 60 percent over the past five years, the volume has increased by almost 10 percent. Greater volume growth is therefore highly desirable in order to develop the industry further.”
With exports to Asia falling from the previous 12 months, the growth in volume and value mainly came from shipments to European Union markets.
According to the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), the Scandinavian country sold 1.7 million MT of seafood worth NOK 66 billion (USD 7.7 billion, EUR 6.7 billion) to E.U. markets last year, representing an eight percent rise in both volume and value compared with 2017.
At the same time, the country shipped 478,000 MT of seafood worth NOK 17.7 billion (USD 2.1 billion, EUR 1.8 billion) to Asia, which was a decrease in volume of 12 percent and a fall in value of eight percent, or NOK 1 billion (USD 116.1 million, EUR 101.9 million).
Meanwhile, “weak growth” in Eastern Europe led to 172,000 MT worth NOK 3.6 billion (USD 419.9 million, EUR 367 million) going to these markets, down five percent in volume and 2 percent in value.
“Although we did not pass the magical NOK 100 billion marker, this has been another good year for Norwegian seafood exports,” NSC CEO Renate Larsen said.
Larsen said that the increase in exports came despite a number of challenges.
“In summary, records were broken for Norwegian seafood, both in terms of export value and export volume in 2018. This despite Brexit, the threat of trade wars and other challenges that have together created unpredictability in the world market,” she said. “Seafood exports to the E.U. market have increased due to lower competition and a favorable currency situation against the euro. We see a decline in seafood exports to Asia, as a result of increased competition and continued challenging market access to China.”
The largest export market for Norway was Poland, which in 2017 took 228,000 MT of seafood, up 17 percent, worth NOK 10.2 billion (USD 1.2 billion, EUR 1 billion), up 14 percent.
In terms of value, Denmark was the second-largest market, buying in NOK 8.6 billion (USD 1 billion, EUR 876.6 million) of Norwegian seafood, an increase of five percent.
Norway’s largest growth market outside Poland was the United Kingdom, with sales rising by 18 percent to NOK 6.2 billion (USD 723.2 million, EUR 632 million). This made it the fourth-most important market for Norwegian seafood exporters last year.
In terms of species, the NSC confirmed that new export records were set for salmon, cod, saithe, and king crab.
Salmon had the largest share of all species in terms of both export volume and value with 1.1 million MT generating revenues of NOK 67.8 billion (USD 7.9 billion, EUR 6.9 billion).
Its cod exports totaled 197,000 MT worth NOK 9.4 billion (USD 1.1 billion, EUR 958.1 million), while the overseas sales of saithe amounted to 106,000 MT and NOK 2.1 billion (USD 245 million, EUR 214.1 million). Some 2,000 MT of king crab worth NOK 579 million (USD 67.5 million, EUR 59 million) were exported.
The NSC also highlighted that over the past 10 years, the value of Norwegian seafood exports has increased by 156 percent.
Aquaculture now accounts for 72 percent of the export value and 40.5 percent of the volume. Wild-caught fisheries account for 28 percent by value, and 59.5 percent by volume.
