Norwegian salmon exports to UK rise by 25%
Shoppers in the UK are buying more salmon during the Covid-19 lockdown but not all of that extra fish is grown in Scotland.
Figures from the Norwegian Seafood Council show that Norway exported 25% more fresh whole salmon to the UK last week (week 14) compared to the equivalent week in 2019.
The increase is similar to that experienced by Scottish salmon producers, who are understood to have seen an increase in domestic retail demand of approximately 30%.
14,235 tonnes to EU
“Overall, exports of fresh whole salmon to the EU market increased by 1% to 14,235 tonnes in week 14,” said Norwegian Seafood Council analyst Paul Aandahl.
“There was growth in Lithuania (18%), Germany (14%), Finland (146%) and the UK (25%), while there was a decline in Poland (8%), Italy (32%), France (16%), Spain (9%).”
However, compared to week 15 in 2019 - which was the week before Easter last year - there was a 15% decline in exports of fresh whole salmon from Norway.
More fillets
“Normally, we see an increase in salmon exports in the week before Easter,” said Aandahl.
“This year we saw a 13% decline in salmon exports converted to round weight, compared with week 15 in 2019. Norway exported 17,024 tonnes of fresh whole salmon in week 14. This is a 15% decrease against week 15 in 2019.”
Norway’s exports of fresh salmon fillets increased by 2% in week 14 to 1,801 tonnes, said Aandahl. This included increases in exports to the EU (7%), Japan (37%), Sweden (51%), Israel (154%) and South Korea (25%).
China up 32%
“There was a decline of about 7% in exports of fresh whole salmon to Asia in week 14,” said Aandahl.
“For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak, exports to China have surpassed the corresponding week in 2019. In week 14, exports of fresh whole salmon to China increased by 32% to 572 tonnes. There was also growth in South Korea (4%) and Taiwan (2%).
“There was a decline in exports of fresh whole salmon to Thailand (75%) and Malaysia (69%). The reason for the decline in Thailand is largely linked to reduced demand from the tourism industry, while the decline in Malaysia is to a greater extent linked to the loss of air cargo capacity.”
There was a 72% decline in exports of fresh whole salmon from Norway to the United States in week 14. This was due to reduced demand from the restaurant market and sharply reduced transport capacity from week 12.
