NOK 90 billion year predicted
A record November for Norwegian salmon exports has helped fuel speculation that the country’s total seafood exports will easily surpass NOK 90 billion (£8.47 billion) this year.
"2016 looks set to be another record year for Norwegian seafood exports. Assuming normal performance in December we see that total exports will pass the NOK 90 billion mark by a wide margin. More and more markets are requesting seafood from Norway and our seafood industry is strengthening its position as a key industry for Norway’s future,” says the Norwegian Seafood Council's communications director, Geir Håvard Hanssen.
Entering the last month of 2016, exports have totalled NOK 83.2 billion – an increase of NOK 16 billion compared to the same period last year.
The price for salmon and trout has been at a historic high throughout 2016. In November the Norwegian salmon industry exported 94,000 tonnes of salmon, worth NOK 6.1 billion. This is a volume increase of 2 per cent, while the value increased by 38 per cent compared with November 2015. This is the first time the value of salmon exports has exceeded NOK 6 billion in a single month.
Salmon prices remained high in November with an average price for whole fresh salmon of NOK 61.90 (£5.83) per kg. In November 2015 the price was NOK 44.86 (£4.22) per kg.
So far this year Norway has exported 890,000 tonnes of salmon to a value of NOK 55 billion. This is a volume decrease of 5.1 per cent, while the value has increased by 30 per cent compared to the same period last year. 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 US 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,” says Paul Aandahl from the Norwegian Seafood Council.
Trout smash salmon prices
In November the price for fresh whole trout was, for the second consecutive month, higher than that for fresh whole salmon, reaching NOK 65.18 (£6.13) per kg. In volume terms the Norwegian trout industry exported 4,208 tonnes of trout worth NOK 295 million. This is a volume decrease of 32 per cent, while the export value increased by 8 per cent compared with November 2015. So far this year Norway has exported 64,100 tonnes of trout worth NOK 3.6 billion. By volume this is an increase of 38 per cent, while by value the increase was 77 per cent higher than the same period in 2015. Japan and Belarus bought the most trout from Norway in November.
