April 4, 2019 — Norway exported 640,000 metric tons (MT) of fisheries and aquaculture products worth a record NOK 25.6 billion (USD 3 billion, EUR 2.7 billion) in the first quarter of this year. While the volume represented a decline of 18 percent, the value was 7 percent or NOK 1.8 billion (USD 210.6 million, EUR 187.3 million), higher than in the corresponding period of 2018.
The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) highlighted that the volume drop would be just 2 percent if the pelagic category is excluded from the statistics.
“The volume decline in the pelagic category is due to lack of capelin this year, in addition to delays in the reporting of blue whiting from direct landings abroad,” Paul Aandahl, analyst with the NSC, said.
Fellow NSC analyst Ingrid Pettersen confirmed that the value of seafood exports in the first quarter reached a record high, and this was mainly driven by increased prices for some of the country’s most important species.
“There are good, stable market conditions, increased demand in our key markets, and a weak Norwegian kroner against both the U.S. dollar and the euro sets a record price for seafood exports,” she said.
The Scandinavian country exported 247,000 MT of salmon with a value of NOK 16.7 billion (USD 2 billion, EUR 1.7 billion) in Q1 2019, with the volume and value up 1 percent and 7 percent respectively year-on-year. The average price for fresh whole salmon through the quarter was NOK 68.78 (USD 8.05, EUR 7.16) per kilogram, up from NOK 67.45 (USD 7.89, EUR 7.02).