The price of Norwegian farmed salmon remains high despite some recent easing, confirmed the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC). With an average price of NOK 58 (USD 7, EUR 6.27) per kg, last month’s export value of NOK 5.3 billion (USD 640.1 million, EUR 572.3 million) was 42 percent or NOK 1.6 billion (USD 193.2 million, EUR 173 million) higher than the same month in 2015.
At the same time, the country’s trout prices have doubled.
“In August, export prices fell by around NOK 8 (USD 0.97, EUR 0.86) per kg. Demand for Norwegian salmon is still high and export volumes have increased. We also see that the trout is strengthening its position in several markets,” said Geir Havard Hanssen, communications director with the NSC.
According to NSC Analyst Paul Aandahl, the inflation in salmon prices has not yet fully impacted consumers.
“Despite the high export price, consumers in Europe are continuing to buy Norwegian salmon. However, we are seeing a change in the consumption pattern of consumers, who are now buying salmon more often, but in smaller quantities,” said Aandahl.
The fastest price rises are for fresh ”low process” premium salmon products. While the wholesale market is experiencing inflation, consumer prices are only rising slowly. This is mainly due to the widespread use of forward contracts, especially in processed products. Over the longer term, these wholesale price increases will start to be transferred to consumers. Then the market will show how far consumers are willing to stretch, to keep salmon on their dinner plates, he said.
So far this year, Norway’s salmon exports have totaled NOK 37.8 billion (USD 4.6 billion, EUR 4.1 billion), an increase of 29 percent or NOK 8.5 billion (USD 1 billion, EUR 918.7 million) year-on-year.
Meanwhile, trout exporters have been growing new trade markets to replace their historical No. 1 market, Russia, in the wake of the import ban introduced two years ago.
“Norwegian trout fell in price with the closure of the Russian market, which meant that exporters had to go through a demanding turnaround. Today, we see that Norwegian trout exporters have successfully entered new markets in Europe, the United States and Asia. Furthermore, we can also see that prices have risen. Now Norwegian trout exporters are reaping the rewards for the effective marketing investments they have made in these new markets in recent years,” said Hanssen.
In August, trout exports totaled NOK 355 million (USD 42.9 million, EUR 38.4 million), an increase of 102 percent or NOK 179 million (USD 21.6 million, EUR 19.3 million) compared to August 2015. Year-to-date exports of trout have amounted to NOK 2.6 billion (USD 314 million, EUR 280.9 million), up 97 percent or NOK 1.3 billion (USD 156.9 million, EUR 140.4 million) year-on-year.
Belarus and Japan were the largest markets for Norwegian trout in August.
