Norway exported NOK 254 million (USD 32.2 million, EUR 26.3 million) worth of live king crab last year, 3 percent less than in 2016, with sales to South Korea, its principal market for this particular shellfish product, experiencing a significant decline.
South Korea accounted for 52 percent of Norway’s total live king crab trade but its imports dropped by 19 percent to NOK 131 million (USD 16.6 million, EUR 13.6 million). However, the United States and Canada, which are Norway’s second and third largest markets respectively, increased their imports (in value terms) by 18 percent and 9 percent respectively.
For frozen king crab, Norway’s total export value fell by 5 percent to NOK 255 million (USD 32.4 million, EUR 26.4 million), but there was a slight increase in sales to South Korea compared with 2016.
The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) highlighted that a considerable amount of the crab imported by South Korea is re-exported to Southeast Asia and the United States. It also noted that Japan went from being the largest market for Norwegian frozen king crab in 2016 to sixth place in 2017 with a reduced export value of 86 percent.
The reason for Japan’s reduction was that it has not managed to compete with the “well paying markets” of Europe and the United States, said Ingrid Kristine Pettersen, analyst at NSC.
Norway also exported NOK 225 (USD 28.6 million, EUR 23.3 million) worth of snow crab last year, down 34 percent compared with 2016. Of this total, NOK 224 million (USD 28.4 million, EUR 23.2 million) was for frozen snow crab. In volume terms, the frozen snow crab trade amounted to 1,901 metric tons (MT), which was a 52 percent reduction on the previous year’s volume.
This decrease was due to Norwegian and EU vessels being banned from fishing the Russian continental shelf, said NSC.
In line with the thinner supply, the average price of frozen snow crab increased from NOK 83.73 (USD 10.63, EUR 8.68) to NOK 117.97 (USD 14.97, EUR 12.23) per kg for 2017. The main markets for the product were Japan and Denmark.
Overall, Norway exported 40,000 MT of shellfish (including shrimp) valued at NOK 1.7 billion (USD 215.7 million, EUR 176.3 million) in 2017, which represented is a decrease in volume of 2 percent and a 7 percent reduction in value compared with the previous year.
