Norway exported fisheries and aquaculture products worth NOK 8.8 billion (USD 1 billion, EUR 902.5 million) last month, representing an increase of 11 percent or NOK 892 million (USD 102.5 million, EUR 91.5 million) compared to April 2018.
According to new trade figures published by the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) there has been “strong growth” in the global demand for Norwegian salmon, particularly from the European Union, Asia and U.S. markets.
Last month, the Scandinavian country exported 86,000 metric tons (MT) of salmon with a value of NOK 6.2 billion (USD 712.2 million, EUR 635.9 million), with the volume and value up 17 percent and 19 percent respectively. The average price for fresh whole salmon through the month was NOK 68.46 (USD 7.86, EUR 7.02) per kilogram, which was on par with a year previously.
So far in 2019, salmon exporters have sold 333,000 MT of products with a value of NOK 22.9 billion (USD 2.6 billion, EUR 2.3 billion), with the volume and value increasing by 5 percent and 10 percent respectively.
“Poland was the most important export market for Norwegian salmon in April. This was also the market with the largest growth,” Paul Aandahl, analyst with the NSC, said. “Increased domestic consumption as well as increased processing of Norwegian salmon, especially for frozen fillets and smoked salmon marked for export, is the reason for the strong increase in Poland. Germany is the most important market for processed products from Poland.”
Also in the salmonid sector, Norway exported 3,800 MT of trout worth NOK 275 million (USD 31.6 million, EUR 28.2 million) last month, with the volume and value 4 percent and 14 percent higher than in April 2018. Consequently, trout exports for the first four months of 2019 totaled 14,800 MT worth NOK 1 billion (USD 114.9 million, EUR 102.6 million).
“Just as last month, exports of filleted trout products are increasing, with export volumes of fresh trout fillets increasing by 47 percent. At the same time, there is also strong growth for smoked trout, which has risen by 145 percent, compared with the same period last year,” Aandahl said.
With regards last month’s whitefish trade, Norway exported 8,700 MT of fresh cod, including skrei, valued at NOK 362 million (USD 41.6 million, EUR 37.1 million), with the volume down 7 percent and the value up 4 percent.
To-date in 2019, some 33,900 MT of fresh cod has been exported with a value of NOK 1.4 billion (USD 160.8 million, EUR 143.6 million), which represents volume and value reductions of 20 percent and 5 percent respectively. Of this, skrei accounted for 6,400 MT a 27 percent year-on-year increase, which also came with a 45 percent increase in export value to NOK 285 million (USD 32.7 million, EUR 29.2 million).
NSC seafood analyst Ingrid Pettersen highlighted that in recent years, skrei exports have remained stable at around 5,000 MT a year, and that this is during a period when quotas for cod have declined.
“This year's skrei season has been historically notable, with a growth in volume of almost 30 percent, matched by record high prices,” she said.
Also in April, Norway exported 5,900 MT of frozen cod valued at NOK 253 million (USD 29.1 million, EUR 26 million), with the volume and value rising 17 percent and 43 percent compared to the corresponding month of 2018.
Some 31,000 MT of frozen cod with a value of NOK 1.3 billion (USD 149.3 million, EUR 133.3 million) has been exported by Norway so far this year. This is an increase in volume of 16 percent and a 38 percent rise in value.
"In 2018, we saw a weak price development for cod fillet products, while this year we see a considerable price increase for all fillet products from cod," Pettersen said.
In the pelagic trade, over the past four months, Norway has exported 117,000 MT of herring, an increase of 14 percent, corresponding to an 8 percent increase in value to NOK 966 million (USD 111 million, EUR 99.1 million). The country also exported 62,000 MT of mackerel, an increase of 2 percent, which constituted a value of NOK 1 billion (USD 114.3 million, EUR 102.2 million), an increase of 35 percent.
NSC’s data also finds that 604 MT of king crab, with a value of NOK 186 million (USD 21.4 million, EUR 19.1 million) were exported in the four-month period, with the volume and value up 22 percent and 34 percent respectively. At the same time, 5,200 MT of shrimp, a volume increase of 86 percent, was sold overseas, representing a 57 percent increase in value to NOK 363 million (USD 41.7 million, EUR 37.2 million).
