Saving Seafood

Record first-quarter revenues for Norway’s seafood exporters, but volume plummets

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).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Norway’s Per Sandberg provides post-Brexit insight for the seafood sector

February 6, 2017 — Britain’s seafood industry will be radically transformed once it uncouples from the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), with much more emphasis placed on establishing management agreements and eradicating trade barriers, according to Per Sandberg, the Norwegian Minister of Fisheries.

Sandberg, who has now held the minister position for 30 months, was in London to discuss his country’s fisheries management with delegates at a new whitefish conference organized by the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC). In his speech, he shared tales of his experiences working alongside the CFP from the perspective of being a non-E.U. member state.

“Being outside the CFP has naturally had an effect on how fisheries management has developed in Norway,” he said. “Although we have a good record of cooperation with the EU, being outside opens the door to more adaptive fisheries management. For instance, if we find that a measure is not having a desired effect, we can just change it without lengthy procedures. This makes our decision making process simpler and more transparent.”

Sandburg also addressed Brexit and how it will affect Norway.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

Norway Posts Record Fish, Salmon Exports Despite Russian Embargo

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Agence Press France] — January 6, 2016 — Norway registered record fish exports in 2015 thanks to a weaker currency which compensated for a Russian food embargo, an industry body said Tuesday.

Norway’s fish exports totalled 74.5 billion kroner (7.75 billion euros, $8.35 billion), more than double the level 10 years ago and a rise of eight percent from the record year of 2014, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council.

“In a year with trade restrictions in several markets and an import embargo in Russia, the result was better than expected,” director Terje Martinussen said in a statement.

Russia suspended food imports from most Western countries in August 2014 in retaliation for sanctions the West imposed on Moscow over its role in the Ukraine crisis. Russia had until then been one of the biggest markets for Norwegian fish exports.

China, which froze diplomatic ties with Oslo after the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to imprisoned dissident Liu Xiaobo, has also imposed drastic restrictions on Norwegian salmon imports, officially citing veterinary concerns.

But the weaker Norwegian currency, partly caused by plummeting prices for oil, another main Norwegian export, helped compensate for the Chinese and Russian declines.

In volume, Norway’s exports decreased by 2.2 percent to 2.6 million tonnes.

Salmon, Norway’s star product, and trout, accounted for two-thirds of seafood exports, for a sum of 50 billion kroner which was also a new record.

Two-thirds of exports went to the EU, where Poland, Denmark and France were the main takers.

This opinion piece originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.