Despite a decline in the export of trout, herring and shellfish, Norwegian seafood exports have never been higher than they were during the first six months of this year. Their value reached NOK 46.3 billion (USD 5.6 billion), also aided by a relatively weak krone.
Sheer volume rose 4 percent, to 1.3 million tons, while the increase in value amounted to 9 percent, compared to the first half of 2016. It had also set records, as Norway’s seafood continues to play an important role in the country’s economy, ranking second only to oil and gas.
“The first half of the year was characterized by record high prices for salmon,” said analyst Paul Aandahl of the Norwegian Seafood Council (Norges sjømattåd). The high prices, he said, resulted from a combination of ongoing growth in demand and reduced production elsewhere in the world.
Salmon accounted for NOK 31.5 billion of the export revenues. The other major export product was klippfisk, the dried cod that’s popular in Spain, Portugal and especially Brazil. Its volume was up 19 percent, to 42,000 tons, while its value rose 14 percent.
newsinenglish.no staff
