Tariff gap reshapes US salmon buying, Canada ascendant.
Norway exported 145,446 tonnes of salmon worth NOK 10.6 billion ($1.03 billion) in August. The export value declined by NOK 95 million ($9.2 million), or 1 percent, year on year, while volume increased 17 percent.
Poland, the United States and the Netherlands were the largest markets by value. China recorded the strongest growth in August, with salmon export value up NOK 349 million ($33.9 million), an increase of 84 percent year on year. Export volume to China reached 9,343 tonnes, up 114 percent. Despite the surge, China was the fourth-largest market by value in August, with a share of around 7 percent. Poland was the largest, accounting for about 14 percent.
“In turbulent times, it is a strength for Norwegian salmon exports that Norway exports salmon to around 100 countries, and none of the individual markets dominates significantly,” says seafood analyst Paul T. Aandahl at the Norwegian Seafood Council.
US market and tariffs
For fresh whole salmon, the United States remained a well-paying niche market, but August saw a 51 percent decline in value versus the same month last year.
“There has been a lot of attention surrounding Norway’s new 15 per cent tariff. One effect is that it distorts competition. Canada, for example, has no tariffs on seafood imports to the US, while Scottish and Faroese salmon are subject to a 10 per cent tariff,” says Karine Rød Haraldsson, the Norwegian Seafood Council’s representative in the US.
Haraldsson pointed to additional factors behind August’s decline for fresh whole salmon to the US. “Overall production has increased in salmon-producing countries that have lower tariffs to the US than Norway. Competition has thus increased further as a result. In 2025, there has also been a large increase in demand in Asia, particularly in China. The supply of large fish is limited, and global demand is therefore affecting exports to markets such as the US,” says Haraldsson.
