OSLO: The import of Norwegian seafood in South Korea surged last year due largely to increased demand for mackerel, a report said Wednesday.
The inbound shipments of seafood from Norway reached 292.8 billion won (US$256.6 million) in 2016, up 73 percent from the previous year, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), which cited its latest government statistics.
While the portion of the purchases by South Korea is relatively small compared to that of some 150 other countries, Seoul has recorded the biggest growth in seafood imports over the cited period, followed by 43 percent by Italy and 42 percent by the United States, the report said.
The NSC attributed the surge largely to strong demand for mackerel, a common seafood ingredient used in Korean side dishes, whose import to Korea climbed 39 percent on-year in 2016.
