Norwegian salmon has been strengthening its position in the United States and taking additional market share in what is a growing market. In a two-part interview, Egil Ove Sundheim, director U.S.A. for the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), guides SeafoodSource through the trade and highlights where further growth is likely to come from.
SeafoodSource: In volume terms, how much Norwegian salmon was exported to the U.S. market last year and what was the total value of these exports?
Sundheim: The total volume (product weight) exported in 2016 was 39,708 metric tons (MT), an increase of 6 percent compared with the previous year. Within this, the largest categories were: fresh fillets – 18,318 MT (up 43 percent), whole fish – 13,826 MT (down 11 percent) and frozen fillets – 7,018 MT (down 10 percent). The total volume, whole fish equivalent (WFE), was 55,342 MT, up 9 percent, and the value of these exports totaled USD 402,998,000 (EUR 379.4 million), an increase of 30 percent. This growth continued in January 2017 with Norway exporting 3,918 MT of salmon products to the market with a WFE of 5,255 MT and a value of USD 45,753,000 (EUR 43.1 million).
SeafoodSource: What were the average prices paid for Norwegian salmon products by U.S. importers in 2016?
Sundheim: The average export price for Norwegian fresh whole salmon to the United States last year was USD 8.29 (EUR 7.80) per kg, an increase of 43 percent compared to 2015. The average export price for fresh fillets increased 12 percent to USD 9.95 (EUR 9.37) per kg, while the frozen fillet price was up 17 percent to USD 14.37 (EUR 13.53) per kg.
SeafoodSource: How many Norwegian companies are producing and exporting salmon to the U.S. market?
Sundheim: We do not know how many companies are involved in the trade with United States, but there are 8-10 Norwegian companies with their own presence in the U.S. market and several others have strong ties with importers and distributors. In addition, numerous Norwegian producers would find their salmon entering the U.S. market based on sales of traders and other intermediaries. As far as I know, all the major Norwegian salmon companies have sales to the US market.
SeafoodSource: Geographically, where are the main U.S. markets for Norwegian salmon and where is the most growth being seen?
Sundheim: Norwegian salmon is being distributed nation-wide. Frozen portions have been available through various national and regional foodservice accounts for quite some time. For fresh products, we see that most products traditionally have entered the United States on the East Coast. As new flights have been set up from Scandinavia to the West Coast and Miami, Norwegian salmon are being shipped to these destinations as well. With the availability of efficient trucking routes, any destination within the continental United States is reachable within 48 hours from any port. As we have experienced more national and regional retailers entering into a program with Norwegian salmon, we now also find Norwegian salmon sold in any region of the United States. If there is one region that I find being stronger than the other when it comes to the presence of Norwegian product it would be the North East.
The major growth has been in the category of fresh fillets, largely driven by the demand from national and regional retail chains.
SeafoodSource: Is Norwegian salmon performing best in U.S. retail or foodservice?
Sundheim: We see a strong growth in the fresh fillet sector, partly related to retail programs. At the same time, we know that the U.S. secondary processors and distributors involved in some of these programs also cater to the foodservice market, so I think part of the growth also comes from the foodservice side. Increased availability of fresh products in regional markets would make it easier for foodservice programs to be established. We know Norwegian salmon has a good standing among chefs and there is still an opportunity to expand the presence of Norwegian salmon on the menus, both in terms of number of restaurants serving the product, but also in terms of using the versatility of Norwegian salmon to increase the number of items presented on the menu.
