Norway exported 75,700 metric tons (MT) of farmed Atlantic salmon last month, which represented a 3,700 MT increase in volume compared with February 2017 but was 9,700 MT less than in January 2018.
The reduced month-on-month volume led to a NOK 1.52 (USD 0.20, EUR 0.16) per kg increase in prices, with February’s average price reaching a level of NOK 58.52 (USD 7.54, EUR 6.08) per kg. This was, however, 9 percent lower than the average for February last year.
Consequently, with a total value of NOK 4.7 billion (USD 605.2 million, EUR 488.2 million), Norway earned 5 percent or NOK 233 million (USD 30 million, EUR 24.2 million) less for its salmon exports last month than in February 2017.
According to Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) analyst Paul Aandahl, the EU market is taking an increasing share of Norway’s salmon export despite high consumer prices for the fish.
The main reasons for this are a strengthening of the euro and a lower export price compared with the same period of last year, he said.
In the opening two months of 2018, Norway exported 160,000 MT of salmon worth NOK 9.7 billion (USD 1.2 billion, EUR 1 billion), with Poland, France and Denmark buying in the most product.
The NSC also confirmed that Norway exported 3,000 MT of trout with a value of NOK 184 million (USD 23.7 million, EUR 19.1 million) last month, with the volume up 25 percent and the value on par with February 2017.
To date, Norway has shipped 6,000 MT of trout worth NOK 390 million (USD 50.2 million, EUR 40.5 million) to overseas markets, with Belarus, Poland and the United States providing the main markets for the product.
