Pelagic fish exporters from Norway shipped 146,000 metric tons (MT) of herring and mackerel in the first-quarter of this year with a total value of NOK 1.7 billion (USD 197.9 million, EUR 186.7 million), with fillet products growing in demand.
According to the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), the Scandinavian country exported 42,000 MT of whole herring and 30,000 MT of frozen herring fillet products with a total value of NOK 795 million (USD 92.6 million, EUR 87.3 million) in the first three months of 2017.
Germany, Belarus, Lithuania and Poland have been the largest markets for frozen herring fillet products so far this year, while Ukraine, Lithuania and Egypt have led the demand for frozen whole herring.
The trade has been underpinned by this year’s increased catching quotas for the Norwegian Spring Spawning herring and North Sea fisheries, which have so far lifted catches by 22 percent compared with the same period of last year. Despite the much higher quotas, fillet products are fetching higher prices, while prices for whole frozen herring are “somewhat lower” than the record high prices seen in 2016, said Jan Eirik Johnsen, director for pelagic fish with the NSC.
Nearly 60 percent of herring exports so far this year have been destined for filleting, which is 5 percent more than in Q1 2016.
Norway’s mackerel exports in the last quarter, meanwhile, comprised 66,000 MT of frozen whole mackerel and 1,500 MT of frozen mackerel fillets, which is on par with Q1 2016 but with slightly more fillets and proportionately less whole mackerel.
The value of these mackerel exports increased by 6 percent to NOK 818 million (USD 95.2 million, EUR 89.8 million) with China, Turkey and South Korea leading the trade.
In spite of an increase in the Norwegian mackerel quota of 27,000 MT from last year, the average price of frozen whole mackerel in Q1 was NOK 11.66 (USD 1.36, EUR 1.28) per kg, up 10 percent year-on-year, said Johnsen.
In addition, Norway exported 21,000 MT of frozen whole capelin in Q1 2017 for consumption in Asia and Eastern Europe. Norway has been able to export this species despite not having a Norwegian quota in the Barents Sea because Norwegian vessels have fished under the Icelandic quota and delivered their catch in Norway.
The average export price for capelin in the last quarter was NOK 9.84 (USD 1.14, EUR 1.08) per kg – a record price and more than twice as much as in the last years when Norway had Barents Sea quota.
Overall, Norway exported NOK 2.1 billion (USD 244.5 million, EUR 230.7 million) worth of pelagic fish in Q1 2017, an increase of 7 percent year-on-year.
