While July traditionally represents the weakest month for Norway’s seafood trade, the country’s 159,000 metric tons (MT) of fisheries and aquaculture exports achieved a record value of NOK 7.1 billion (USD 864.9 million, EUR 745.8 million) last month. Compared with July 2017, the volume and value were up eight percent and seven percent, respectively.
The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) highlighted that within the trade, the biggest seasonal variations occur within fisheries and that last month this sector posted its second highest July value ever with NOK 1.5 billion (USD 182.7 million, EUR 157.6 million). Aquaculture, which provided 78 percent of total exports, achieved a record value of NOK 5.5 billion (USD 669.8 million, EUR 577.8 million).
NSC attributed the record value to the growth in salmon exports as well as continued high prices for the species. Norway exported 88,000 MT of salmon worth NOK 5.3 billion (USD 645.5 million, EUR 556.8 million) last month, and while prices have fallen in recent months, they remained at a robust average of NOK 56.45 (USD 6.87, EUR 5.93) per kilogram
For the first seven months of the year, total exports (all sectors and species) amounted to 1.6 million MT worth NOK 55.2 billion (USD 6.7 billion, EUR 5.8 billion), representing year-on-year increases of 11 percent and 4 percent respectively.
In addition to 572,000 MT of salmon valued at NOK 37.8 billion (USD 4.6 billion, EUR 4 billion), the Scandinavian country exported 53,000 MT of fresh cod worth NOK 1.9 billion (USD 231.4 million, EUR 199.6 million) and 43,000 MT of frozen cod worth NOK 1.6 billion (USD 194.9 million, EUR 168.1 million). While the cod volumes are down slightly compared with last year, the value has nudged upwards.
"We are still seeing an increase in exports of fresh cod outside of the main season, much of the explanation is due to the fresh fish system and live storage. Despite the fact that the price fell a little in July, the average price achieved for fresh whole cod is 9 percent higher this year compared with the same period in 2017,” said Ingrid Kristine Pettersen, analyst with the NSC.
Also in the January through July period, Norway exported 48,000 MT of whole clipfish and 22,600 MT of salted fish, worth NOK 2.2 billion (USD 268 million, EUR 231.1 million) and NOK 1.1 billion (USD 134 million, EUR 115.6 million) respectively. These volumes and values were higher than recorded in the corresponding period of last year.
In the pelagic trade, it shipped 159,000 MT of herring valued at NOK 1.4 billion (USD 170.5 million, EUR 147.1 million), while in the shellfish sector, 946 MT of king crab achieved overseas sales of NOK 273 million (USD 33.3 million, EUR 28.7 million).
Last year, Norway exported a record 2.6 million MT of seafood worth NOK 94.5 billion (USD 11.5 billion, EUR 9.9 billion).
