OSLO: Norwegian seafood exports totalled NOK 6.7 billion (€719.8 million) in May 2016, an increase of 28% or NOK 1.5bn year-on-year.
Year-to-date, seafood exports stand at NOK 35.5bn, up 26%.
“Norway has exported one hundred thousand tons less seafood so far this year compared with the first five months of last year,” said Geir Havard Hanssen, director of communications at the Norwegian Seafood Council.
“Meanwhile, the value of seafood exports has increased by 26% during the same period. The decline in volume is mainly due to the reduced availability of salmon. Good weather has also meant that some cod quotas have already been fished. Growth by value is mainly due to the strong overall demand for Norwegian seafood and good prices achieved for most products.”
Salmon exports were worth NOK 4.9bn in May, up 39%. So far this year, salmon exports have totalled NOK 23bn, an increase of 28%.
The average price for whole fresh Norwegian salmon in May was NOK 60.48 per kilogram, compared with NOK 38.37/kg a year earlier. Poland and France were the biggest buyers of salmon from Norway in May.
Norway exported trout worth NOK 281m in May, a leap of 84% or NOK 128m from May 2015. So far this year, exports of trout have been worth NOK 1.6bn, up 109% year-on-year. Japan and the United States were the largest buyers of trout from Norway in May.
Norway exported cod, saithe, haddock and other demersal fish to a value of NOK 1bn in May, level with May 2015. Year-to-date, though, exports of groundfish have totalled NOK 6.5bn, an increase of 16%, or NOK 88m.
May exports of fresh cod, including fillets, reached NOK 136m, down 8%. Frozen cod exports, including fillets, ended in May at NOK 181m, up 27%.
Exports of clipfish totalled NOK 284m, a decline of 15% or NOK 50m compared to May last year. Sales of salted fish amounted to NOK 156m; flat year-on-year.
When it comes to pelagics, May herring exports stand at NOK 92m, up 13%.
Year-to-date, herring exports have totalled NOK 1.1bn, an increase of 62%. Poland and Germany are the biggest markets for herring.
For mackerel, exports in May were NOK 143m, up 109% or NOK 75m. So far this year, mackerel exports were worth NOK 1.1bn, which represents an increase of 55%. Year-to-date, Japan and South Korea have been the largest export markets.
In May, exports of snow crab were worth NOK 55m; up 171% year-on-year. Year-to-date export growth has been nearly 200%.
Measured by value, snow crab exports have reached NOK 172m. By volume, some 2,068t have been exported so far this year, compared with 968t during the same period last year.
So far this year, the US and Japan have been the main export markets for snow crab.
