Norway exported NOK 12.7 billion worth of seafood in January, up by 23% on the year, largely helped by the price growth in exports.
January was the seventeenth month in a row with seafood exports exceeding NOK 10 billion.
“Price growth is the most important reason why January was another record month for seafood exports. The export prices for salmon, cod, trout, pollock and herring were significantly higher than in January 2022,” said Christian Chramer, CEO of Norway’s Seafood Council.
“Despite troubled times and changing product flows, seafood exports have reached new heights. Inflation is still high in large parts of the world, and consumers in Europe have significant challenges with lower purchasing power and negative expectations for their economy going forward.”
Market shift
Despite lower export volumes of salmon, cod, trout and haddock, increased export volumes of pollock and herring contributed to the increase in export value, along with a weaker Norwegian krone.
In January, seafood was exported to a total of 116 countries, with the largest markets for Norwegian seafood exports being the USA, Denmark and Poland.
Increased export volume of pollock, which has larger quotas this year, also contributed to the growth in export value in January. There was an export record for both pollock and tusk achieved, NOK 466 and NOK 65 million respectively.
Notably in January, there was a decrease in the export volume of fresh whole salmon to Europe, while China and the USA stand out with significant growth.
Only 66% of Norway’s total exports of salmon measured in value went to Europe. This is the lowest proportion of salmon that has gone there in a single month since April 1989.
Norway exported 2.9 million tonnes of seafood to a value of NOK 151.4 billion in 2022, a new record in itself.
