Production costs in the Norwegian fish farming sector have risen by almost 90 percent since 2005, finds a new report compiled by Nofima and Kontali.
The main drivers of this increase are the higher costs seen being incurred for feed, sea lice and general fish health, said Audun Iversen, researcher at Nofima and one of the report’s authors.
Researchers reviewed the production costs for salmon farmers in Norway’s competitor countries, and have analyzed what these mean for the competitive outlook of the Norwegian fish farming industry.
The report addresses the cost development and the underlying causes in Canada, Chile, Scotland and the Faroe Islands.
The cost items in these countries are largely the same as those in Norway, i.e. feed and health costs, but to differing degrees. The various countries face different challenges with regard to sea lice and other diseases.
At the present time, though, only the Faroe Islands can point to lower production costs than Norway.
Norway and the Faroes benefit from the most cost-effective production set-ups, thanks to their favorable natural attributes, good biological results and larger, more efficient facilities, said Iversen.
The report, which was presented at the recent Havbrukssamlingen aquaculture conference in Bergen, Norway, was commissioned by the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund (FHF).
