Norwegian salmon prices down again as competition intensifies

Fresh salmon prices in Norway were down again last week, hitting their lowest point of the year so far. But demand for the pink fish remains strong, with sales volumes also at a record for the year.

The week 27 figures from Statistics Norway show the salmon price dropped by NOK 1.05 to NOK 78.24 per kilo (£5.67).

The decline, at 1.3%, was one of the smallest this year, suggesting that the worst could soon be over.

If not, July could be another disappointing month for Norwegian salmon sales in value terms.

The Norwegian Seafood Council reported just over a week ago that June salmon exports dropped by 15% in value on a year ago while the volume was down by 3%.

The jury is still out, but the lower prices look to be boosting demand, particularly in the United States and Europe.

Volume sales in week 27 totalled 19,201 tonnes, an increase of 10.7% on the previous week when the figure was 17,377 tonnes.

Despite this, Norwegian salmon producers are finding that overseas markets are becoming tougher.

Seafood Council analyst Paul T. Aandahl suggested last week that global competition was increasing without naming the rival countries.

He said: “This has particularly affected the price of markets that have traditionally paid the most for salmon.

“In June, there was a big drop in prices to markets such as Italy, South Korea, China and the USA.”

Conversely, farmed trout sales are soaring ahead, hitting new price and volume records.

Frozen salmon prices were also down last week falling by just over NOK 8 to 86.40 per kilo (£6.25). The volume was also down.