News figures from the Norwegian Seafood Council show a record-high export value for salmon in a single quarter, $87 million higher than the previous record quarter, which was in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Norway’s seafood exports hit NOK 42.1 billion ($4.8 billion) in the third quarter, marking a 10 percent rise year-on-year, driven largely by the weakened Norwegian krone, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council.
This figure has pushed the total exports so far in 2023 to NOK 124.1 billion ($11.3 billion), already surpassing 2021’s full-year total of NOK 120.8 billion ($11 billion). “We can already see that 2023 will be a new record year for Norwegian seafood exports,” said Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bjørnar Skjæran.
While the weaker krone bolstered the value of exports in local currency terms, making salmon, trout, cod, and pollack more competitive globally, the picture is more nuanced when viewed in euros.
“If we measure seafood exports in euros, our largest and most important trading currency, there was an overall decline in value for Norwegian seafood exports. The reason is that the Norwegian krone has been significantly weaker in the third quarter compared to last year”, said CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council, Christian Chramer.
The European Union remained the largest market for Norwegian seafood, absorbing 60 percent of all seafood exports in the third quarter. However, Chramer pointed to a slowing pace of price increases for food products in the EU, influenced by a fall in the consumer price index for food in July and August.
In the third quarter, Poland led the pack among export markets with a 23 percent jump to NOK 5.4 billion ($490 million), followed by Denmark and the USA with increases of 14 percent and 16 percent, respectively. China’s import value remained unchanged, while the UK saw a 2 percent dip.
Historically strong quarter for salmon
- Norway exported 347,700 metric tons of salmon worth NOK 31 billion ($2.8 billion) in the third quarter
- Export value increased by NOK 3.7 billion ($340 million), or 13 per cent, compared to the third quarter of last year
- Export volume fell by 1 per cent
- Poland, the USA and France were the biggest markets for salmon in the third quarter
This is a record-high export value for salmon in a single quarter, NOK 952 million ($87 million) higher than the previous record quarter, which was in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“The value development follows a pattern of growth over a long period of time, and September was the 31st month in a row with an increase in value. Unfortunately, it is not the growth in demand that is the most important contribution to this, but the weak Norwegian krone”, says Seafood Analyst Paul T. Aandahl with the Norwegian Seafood Council.
