Total export value, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council, was NOK 4.2 billion (USD 736.7 million, EUR 566.2 million) in February, down by NOK 300 million (USD 52.6 million, EUR 40.4 million) compared to this time last year, but the year-to-date value of NOK 8.9 billion (USD 1.6 billion, EUR 1.2 billion) is still NOK 326 million (USD 57.2 million, EUR 44 million) better than at this time in 2012.Norwegian salmon is leading the pack, with record-setting exports in February valuing NOK 2.5 billion (USD 438.6 million, EUR 337.1 million), a 20 percent increase over February 2012, which the council attributed to higher salmon prices.
Fresh and frozen Norwegian cod also went up, recording a value of NOK 476 million (USD 83.5 million, EUR 64.2 million), an increase of NOK 39 million (USD 6.8 million, EUR 5.3 million) over last year.
But even these surges couldn’t compensate for losses in other exports. Mackerel was down, dropping 23 percent in value over February 2012 to NOK 192 million (USD 33.7 million, EUR 25.9 million). Salted fish was down too, by 12 percent to NOK 109 million (USD 19.1 million, EUR 14.7 million), and clipfish fell 51 percent to NOK 158 million (USD 27.7 million, EUR 21.3 million) over February 2012.
But herring took the biggest hit, falling 57 percent over this time last year to NOK 344 million (USD 60.3 million, EUR 46.4 million). The council attributed the loss to “reduced quotas.”
