In recent times Norway’s salmon export success has been due to strong prices, not volume, which has been relatively steady. But in this year’s 1st quarter, volume dropped significantly, causing a value drop in the country’s overall seafood exports. The drop has been attributed partly to a production decline caused by a fall in sea temperatures compared to last year. Seafood exports dropped by 3% in value in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2023, disrupting a 3-year value rise. Norway’s currency value vis-à-vis the euro and dollar has fallen for some time, making its product prices cheaper in export markets and has helped fuel revenue gains. But such gains have previously depended on a volume of exports that at least stays constant.
The recent volume drop in Q1—to 246,560 tonnes of salmon—more than offset any exchange rate advantage, and Norway’s total fish export revenue fell to NOK 40.2 billion (EUR 11.7 billion). Norway’s largest markets are in the EU, including Sweden and Poland, which process salmon for re-export throughout the EU. Norwegian salmon prices are influenced by global production (which Norwegians play a large part in) and demand. Demand for salmon, in filleted or steak form, fresh or frozen, has been strong for many years, and that has helped Norway, whose salmon (and trout) farmers also have operations in other countries, such as Chile, the world’s second largest farmed salmon source. Norway’s exports of other species, such as cod, showed mixed results. The largest cause of revenue decline was farmed salmon to the EU.
