Scotland’s Atlantic salmon farming industry is often overshadowed by the superior output of Norway, but the former is still the EU’s leading salmon-producing nation and the No. 3 producer in the world.
As salmon is the United Kingdom’s best-selling seafood product, a large proportion of Scottish production goes directly into fulfilling domestic demand, and yet it’s also Scotland’s No. 1 food export with a current annual value of around GBP 220 million (EUR 255.8 million; USD 346.1 million).
Exports are built upon Scottish provenance and tradition. In 2011, the country’s fresh salmon exports totaled 95,638 metric tons (MT), an increase of 20 percent on the previous year. The main export markets for fresh, frozen and smoked products include France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Eastern Europe, the United States and Japan.
In total, Scottish salmon products are imported by 60 countries. However, analysts believe it’s Scotland’s special relationship with China that offers the most growth potential.
A trade agreement allowing Scottish seafood products to be sold in China was reached by the two countries’ governments in 2011 and is already bearing rich fruit. According to data released by HM Revenue & Customs, Scotland exported 8,675 MT of salmon to the Far East in the first 10 months of last year, which is more than it exported in all of 2011.
The value of its exports to this region through October 2012 was GBP 37 million (EUR 43 million/USD 58.2 million), up from GBP 28 million (EUR 32.6 million; USD 44 million) in the corresponding period of the previous year.
But while Scottish salmon sales in the Far East have increased more than 12-fold in the past three years, the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organization (SSPO) believes the country’s market share does not even represent 1 percent of the opportunity in the market because of the rapid growth of middle class consumers looking for high-quality products.
China, for example, imported a total of 12,000 MT of salmon in 2011, but based on a growth rate of 14 percent, this figure has been forecast to reach 120,000 MT by 2020.
The SSPO expects this year’s exports to the Far East to continue to follow the growth trend and outstrip last year’s earnings. This will be assisted by a good supply of Scottish fish.
Scottish salmon production in 2011 exceeded 158,000 MT – a seven-year high – with a farm gate value of GBP 585 million (EUR 680.3 million; USD 920.2 million), an increase of 2.5 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively. While figures for 2012 hadn’t been published at press time, a volume in excess of 160,000 MT was expected by sector analysts in line with the industry’s ongoing plan to increase production by an average of 3 to 5 percent each year.
Production has now risen for three consecutive years. However, it should be noted that the industry is not without its problems — a fairly recent outbreak of amoebic gill disease (AGD) has hit a number of Scottish farm sites and may hinder the growth trend for both 2012 and 2013. The disease is not normally seen in Scotland but has thrived in unusually high seawater temperatures in recent months.
In its latest trading update, Grieg Seafood confirmed it had lost about 2,400 MT of salmon to AGD and sea lice between October and December 2012. The Scottish Salmon Co. and Marine Harvest have also both confirmed losses due to AGD last year.
