Salmon prices back on the rise

Fresh salmon export prices are starting to climb back up again, according to the latest data from Statistics Norway. After a long period of decline, they rose for the second week in succession to above the NOK 80 per kilo level (£6). In the past seven days (week 40) they were up by 2.7% to NOK 82.68 per kilo (£6.19). They have not been around that level since the start of August. The peak price for fresh fish this year was in March when it hit NOK 122.88 per kilo (£9.20). Export volumes continue to be in good health and in week 40 they increased by 4.1% to 24,952 tonnes, says Statistics Norway. Volumes are, on average, almost 10,000 tonnes higher than at Easter, when demand traditionally starts to gather pace. Because prices have been low, it is thought many buyers are freezing supplies in readiness for the Christmas season. Food stores are also experiencing increased demand, suggesting that consumers, put off by high prices earlier in the year, are returning to salmon. While Poland remains the largest market because of its extensive salmon processing industry, seafood sales to the United States are up by 13.6% over the past three months with salmon leading the way. It is a similar picture in Europe, with Spain, the Netherlands and France all showing marked increases over the summer months. With all these countries, salmon is the dominant species imported from Norway. Frozen salmon export volumes remain steady at 589 tonnes with prices slightly down to NOK 88.59 per kilo (£6.64).