Norway reports record August for salmon exports
Last month was the best August on record for Norwegian salmon exports and for seafood exports as a whole, the Norwegian Seafood Council said today.
Norway exported 113,900 tonnes of salmon worth NOK 7 billion (£585 million) in August. That’s an increase of 21% in volume and NOK 1.7 bn (33%) in value compared to August 2020.
“We have never had a stronger August for salmon exports, neither in volume nor value,” said Norwegian Seafood Council analyst Paul Aandahl in a press release.
“Increased tourism and a gradual reopening of the restaurant sector are two of the explanations. At the same time, we also see that home consumption is increasing in several markets, which has raised the demand for salmon compared with August last year.”
Poland, Denmark and France were the largest markets for Norwegian salmon in August, and Poland – where a lot of secondary processing takes place - saw the largest growth in demand.
“There is still a high demand for processed products such as smoked salmon and pre-packaged salmon portions for sale in retail in markets such as Germany, France and Italy. This means that sales of salmon as a raw material to the processing industry are increasing,” said Aandahl.
Higher prices for trout
Norway exported 6,400 tonnes of trout worth NOK 404m last month. The volume fell by 6% compared to August 2020 but the value increased by NOK 79m, (25%).
Belarus, the United States and Ukraine were the largest markets for trout.
Overall, Norway exported seafood worth NOK 9.6bn in August, an increase of NOK 2.3bn (32%) compared with the same month last year.
World community
“Norwegian seafood exports have never had a higher value in an August month before. A gradual reopening of the world community has obviously had a positive effect,” said Norwegian Seafood Council chief executive Renate Larsen.
The value growth of 32% is the highest ever measured against the corresponding month the year before, said the Seafood Council. Species such as salmon, mackerel, clipfish (dried, salted cod) and king crab contributed most to the increase.
So far this year, Norway has exported seafood worth NOK 72.9bn. Salmon accounts for around two-thirds of the value.
