A boost in exports to the European Union led to a record export value of Norwegian salmon in the first quarter of 2013, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council.
Export values rose 22 percent over 1Q 2012 to NOK 8.2 billion (USD 1.4 billion, EUR 1.1 billion). Exports in March alone came to NOK 3 billion (USD 523 million, EUR 400 million), a 12 percent increased over March of last year.
“Reduced supplies from Norway combined with growth in demand is pushing up the price of Norwegian Salmon,” said Paul Aandahl, the council’s senior market analyst. “This strong price rise has resulted in record value for Norwegian Salmon exports.”
Prices have been trending upward since October 2012, according to the council. In the first quarter of 2013, those prices got a further push upward when exports to the EU went up three percent, or 3,800 metric tons (MT), with the highest amounts of fish going to Poland, the United Kingdom and Germany. The increase happened despite lower-than-usual volumes of exports to Asia and eastern Europe.
The company also set records with export value of Norwegian fjord trout during the first quarter, with a total value of NOK 482 million (USD 84 million, EUR 64.3 million), a 20 percent increase over 2012. Overall export volumes went up 4 percent to 13,000 MT, despite losing 4 percent volume to Russia, and a 9 percent drop in export volume to Japan.
