Norway’s farmed Atlantic salmon exports in the first 10 months of 2013 achieved a total value of NOK 31.4 billion (USD 5.1 billion, EUR 3.8 billion), which was NOK 2 billion (USD 322.6 million, EUR 240.9 million) more than reported for all of last year.
For the month of October alone, the Scandinavian country exported salmon products with a value of NOK 4.2 billion (USD 677.4 million, EUR 506 million), which not only exceeded its total for October 2012 by NOK 1.6 billion (USD 258 million, EUR 192.8 million), it also set a new monthly value and volume record.
In volume terms, exports for the month of October amounted to 104,000 metric tons (MT), contributing to a 10-month total of 774,000 metric tons, which according to the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) was just 30,000 MT shy of the country’s overall total for 2012.
Regardless of the large volumes of salmon coming out of Norway, market prices have remained high and shown some upward growth. The average price for fresh whole salmon in October was NOK 37.80 (USD 6.10, EUR 4.55 /) per kilogram (kg), compared with NOK 25.70 (USD 4.14, EUR 3.10) in October 2012. The average price from September to October increased NOK 4.30 (USD 0.69, EUR 0.52) per kg.
Norwegian exporters are understandably pleased that demand has increased in most key markets in recent months, including Asia and the United States. But there is one notable exception and that’s in the single biggest market for Norwegian salmon — France. Despite a 9 percent increase in the volumes being sold to EU markets, exports to France have shrunk by around 6 percent this year.
This trend first came to light in the first half of this year, with French importers blaming the soaring price for fresh salmon, which was between 35 and 40 percent higher than in 2012. Many of these importers have sought to protect their margins this year by sourcing and supplying Norwegian cod instead.
The high prices have not put off U.K. buyers, however. The NSC reported that in the third-quarter of this year, Norwegian salmon imports increased 23 percent in volume to 12,331 MT and 68 percent in value to GBP 52.5 million (USD 83.5 million, EUR 62.3 million). Looking at the first nine months of 2013, U.K. imports have increased 22 percent in volume and 50 percent in value, compared with the same period of 2012.
With Scottish authorities expecting the country’s salmon production to fall by 10,000 MT to around 152,500 MT this year as a result of a series of disease outbreaks and production stoppages, the United Kingdom is expected to become an increasingly important market for Norwegian producers.
Meanwhile, Ragnar Tveteras of the University of Stavanger told delegates at the recent Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) GOAL conference in Paris that total farmed Atlantic salmon production is expected to grow only slightly to 2.013 million MT this year. There has been a much smaller increase in global production this year compared with the previous two years, he said, and this would likely continue next year with salmon production expected to grow by 3 percent next year to 2.074 MT.
With the popularity of salmon showing no signs of abating, buyers are expecting the high prices to persist for the foreseeable future.
