Norway’s seafood export value recently hit a new record high for the month of August; though, once again, currency effects were a big part of the value increase.
According to data shared by the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), Norway exported seafood worth NOK 14.6 billion (USD 1.34 billion, EUR 1.22 billion) in August 2024, up NOK 724 million (USD 66.8 million, EUR 60.5 million), or 5 percent, from the same month of 2023. That value means it was the best August ever for Norway’s seafood exports, NSC CEO Christian Chramer said.
Chramer added that as much as half of that value is due to the weaker Norwegian krone, which drove up the value of the country’s seafood.
“We also see that higher volumes of trout and mackerel are contributing positively, in addition to an increase in prawn exports,” Chramer said. “At the same time, the price of salmon measured in foreign currency has fallen, while we had lower volumes of both saithe and cod.”
The strong August has countered the negative trend that Norwegian seafood exports were facing after a historic drop in value in June 2024. That month featured the largest single-month drop in seafood export value in history, largely driven by lower salmon prices.
That big drop turned around in July with a year-over-year increase in value, and despite Chramer predicting dark clouds on the horizon for the country’s seafood exports, August has continued the positive trend.
Chramer still cautioned that the higher export value doesn’t tell the full story for the seafood industry.
"At the same time, as the low exchange rate results in good export figures measured in Norwegian kroner, many seafood companies have to deal with the general increase in costs in society,” he said. “Expenses are not necessarily in line with revenues."
Norway’s exports of salmon increased by both value and volume in the quarter. The country exported 125,521 metric tons (MT) of salmon in August 2024, up 3 percent from August 2023. By value, the country exported NOK 10.8 billion (USD 996 million, EUR 902 million) worth of salmon – an increase of 4 percent, or NOK 374 million (USD 34.5 million, EUR 31.2 million), compared to 2023.
The Poland, the U.S., and Denmark were the largest markets for Norwegian salmon in August.
"Even though this is a record export month for Norwegian salmon, both in terms of price and volume, the market trend is uncertain," NSC Seafood Analyst Paul Aandahl said. “In the global market, we see that the import value in local currency is weakening in several of the countries. A lower import price in 2024 has not been compensated by corresponding growth in volume. This applies, for example, to the U.S., China, and Thailand.”
According to the NSC, Norway’s trout exports had a historically strong month, increasing by double-digit percentages in both value and volume. The country exported 9,673 MT of trout in the month worth NOK 771 million (USD 71.1 million, EUR 64.4 million) in August 2024, an increase in volume of 44 percent and value of 36 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
"Trout accounted for 5.3 percent of the export value in August. This means that trout is now the second largest species in Norwegian seafood exports," Aandahl said.
Exports of cod stayed flat by volume and increased slightly by value thanks largely to farmed cod. Norway exported 2,341 MT of fresh cod in August 2024, which was unchanged from August 2023, and the value increased by NOK 7 million (USD 645,000, EUR 585,000), or 5 percent, to NOK 143 million (USD 13.2 million, EUR 11.9 million).
That result was in spite of wild cod export volumes dropping by 18 percent and values dropping by 12 percent, largely related to quotas.
“Both the export volume and export value of fresh wild cod have now fallen for 11 consecutive months, and as in previous months, the decline in the cod quota is the main reason,” the NSC said.
Farmed cod posted the opposite results, with the export volume in August 2024 jumping 84 percent to 767 MT compared to August 2023, while the value increased by 72 percent to NOK 47 million (USD 4.3 million, EUR 3.9 million).
“So far this year, 8,100 [MT] of fresh farmed cod have been exported, which is 41 percent higher than last year,” NSC said. “Farmed cod accounted for 33 percent of the export value of fresh cod in August.”
Frozen cod export volumes and values both decreased in the month, but China began importing a much larger share of frozen cod from Norway, according to the NSC. For the month, China imported NOK 42 million (USD 3.8 million, EUR 3.5 million) in frozen cod, an increase in value of 248 percent year over year.
That increase is related to ...
