Norway February salmon exports value up, but volume down

Norway’s seafood export boom continues but there are signs things could be slowing down, according to the latest figures.

The export value total last month was NOK 13.3bn (just short of £1bn), a rise of 3% on a year ago.

The Norwegian Seafood Council said that thanks to large value growth for salmon, trout, cod and snow crab, the export value in February was raised to a historically high level.

“The value of Norwegian seafood exports has now increased every single month for three years, which has never happened before.”

Seafood Council CEO, Christian Chramer said: “The last time there was a decrease in the export value was in February 2021. In each of the following 36 months, Norwegian seafood exports have increased in value, compared to the same months the previous year.

He added: “Despite the fact that during this period there has been a corona pandemic, the outbreak of war in Europe and a weakened economy,

“Norwegian seafood has experienced good demand in the market. In addition, the combination of high global price growth and a weak Norwegian krone has contributed to the three-year increase in value.”

When it comes to salmon last month there was a clear shift away from whole fish towards more processed products. The proportion of exported fillets has never been higher in a February before, said Chramer.

The volume total in February was 78,522 tonnes, down by 3%, which earned NOK 9.1bn (£679m) a value increase of 5% on a year ago.

Last month, the proportion of fillets in the overall export total reached its highest recorded level. In terms of value, fillets and other processed salmon accounted for 30% of exports, says seafood analyst Paul T. Aandahl.