Weaker krone once again boosts Norway’s seafood export value

A weak krone in the month of August has once again boosted Norway’s seafood export value year over year, driving exports up  15 percent by value.

Norwegian exporters shipped NOK 14.2 billion (USD 1.32 billion, EUR 1.23 billion) worth of seafood in August, an increase of NOK 1.8 billion (USD 168 million, EUR 156 million) over the same month last year. However, Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) CEO Christian Chramer cautioned that much of that increase can be attributed to the weaker krone, which has been a frequent theme for Norway’s seafood industry in 2023.

“The devaluation of the krone is the main reason for the increase in the export value,” Chramer said. “In August, the Norwegian krone was as much as 16 percent weaker against the euro than in the same month last year. This explains almost the entire increase in export value.”

In August 2022, the country exported seafood worth NOK 12.5 billion, which at the time was worth USD 1.24 billion and EUR 1.25 billion.

While the weak krone was a large part of the increase in value, salmon exports continued a two-and-a-half year streak of value growth in August.

“In August, Norwegian salmon exceeded a total export value of over NOK 10 billion [USD 933 million, EUR 870 million],” Chramer said. “This is the 30th month in a row with value growth, and it shows what a strong position Norwegian salmon has in the markets. The prices of fresh whole salmon and trout measured in euros are still lower than at the same time last year.”

The country exported 125,041 metric tons (MT) of salmon in the month, the NSC said.

“[August] is currently the last in a series of 30 months with continuous growth in value measured against the same period the previous year,” NSC Seafood Analyst Paul T. Aandahl said. “We must go back to May 2011 to find an equally long continuous growth period.”

In addition to the continued strong export performance of salmon, the NSC highlighted the large increase in exports to the U.S. The export value to the North American market – which is mostly made up of the U.S. market – increased by 24 percent to NOK 1.5 billion (USD 140 million, EUR 130 million), or 10.4 percent of the total value of Norwegian seafood exports, the NSC said. 

“The U.S.A. is becoming an increasingly large and important market for us,” Chramer said. “We must go back to the 1980s to find an August month when more than 10 percent of the total value of Norwegian seafood exports went to North America.”

In terms of export value, Poland represented the largest market for Norwegian seafood, taking in NOK 435 million (USD 40 million, EUR 37 million) worth of Norwegian salmon compared to the same period last year, the NSC said. 

The NSC also highlighted “historically strong” sales of king crab in August. The country exported ...

Photo courtesy of the Norwegian Seafood Council