Empty order books force are forcing suppliers to look abroad amidst salmon tax fallout says equipment manufacturer CEO.
Norwegian equipment supplier Fluctus has signed a contract for the sale of four feeding systems and spreaders to Chinese trout farmer Qinghai Minze Longyangxia Ecological Aquaculture (Minze Longyangxia), a major rainbow trout grower in Northwest China’s Qinghai province.
The deal which took place at aquaculture conference Aqua Nor in Trondheim earlier this week, represents the Norwegian company’s largest ever single order.
Foreign markets have become even more important for Norwegian suppliers in the past year, according to Fluctus Managing Director Harald Lien.
The company recorded a record turnover of NOK 266 million (€25 million) for 2022. Operating profit, however, fell by almost 80 percent, to just NOK 2 million (€170,000).
“We are experiencing reduced investments in the Norwegian market, which we assume is still affected by the disorderly process regarding the new tax on fish farming,” he said
“It is therefore both natural and necessary for the supplier industry to look abroad. The contract with Minze Longyangxia is our largest single feeding system contract ever and marks a milestone for Fluctus.”
In 2019, Minze Longyangxia signed a strategic cooperation agreement with BioMar, the world’s leading high-end aquatic feed company. The company is the largest producer of steelhead in China, which can be labeled and sold as salmon in China, according to revised rules issued in 2018.
