The price of Norwegian farmed salmon has been at a historic high throughout this year and shows little sign of easing in the months ahead due to the same high market demand and ongoing short supply situation that have shaped the performance of the sector over the past 18 months.
With an average price of NOK 61.90 (USD 7.33, EUR 6.91) per kg, last month’s salmon export value of NOK 6.1 billion (USD 722.5 million, EUR 681.4 million) was 38 percent higher than in November 2015. It was also the first time that the country’s salmon exports exceeded NOK 6 billion (USD 710.7 million, EUR 670.2 million) in a single month.
The performance was supported by a 2 percent year-on-year increase in volume, which totaled 94,000 metric tons (MT). However, so far this year, Norway has exported 890,000 MT of salmon, down 5.1 percent year-on-year.
The total value of its salmon exports over the past 11 months amounted to NOK 55 billion (USD 6.5 billion, EUR 6.1 billion), up 30 percent year-on-year.
According to the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), the high prices have contributed to lower export volumes to major salmon markets in Europe.
“The value of Norwegian salmon exports rose in November, while there was a decline in volume to major consumer markets such as Spain and Sweden. Meanwhile, exports of salmon have increased to markets with a significant processing industry, such as Poland and Denmark. In addition, exports by volume to the U.S. also increased. While the volume of exports fell for processed salmon products, this was balanced by the increased export volumes for fresh whole Norwegian salmon in November,” said Paul Aandahl, salmon analyst with NSC.
Also in November, the average price for fresh whole trout at NOK 65.18 (USD 7.72, EUR 7.28) per kg was, for the second consecutive month, higher than that for fresh whole salmon.
Last month, the Norwegian trout industry exported 4,208 MT of fish worth NOK 295 million (USD 34.9 million, EUR 33 million), which represented a volume decrease of 32 percent, while the export value increased by 8 percent compared with November 2015.
So far this year, Norway has exported 64,100 MT of trout worth NOK 3.6 billion (USD 426.4 million, EUR 402.1 million), up 38 percent and 77 percent compared with the corresponding period of 2015.
Belarus and Japan remain the largest markets for Norwegian trout.
