Norwegian seafood exports smash NOK 100bn barrier
NORWEGIAN seafood exports have broken through the significant 100 billion kroner barrier, three months before the end of the year.
Figures from the Norwegian Seafood Council published earlier this month show exports totalled a new record of NOK 109 billion (£9bn) in the first nine months of 2022, with farmed salmon accounting for almost 75% of that figure.
This represents a growth of 29% compared with the same period last year, almost certainly due to soaring salmon, cod and haddock prices.
Christian Chramer, the Council’s new CEO, described the growth as “impressive” adding: “Norwegian seafood has maintained its strong global position both through the corona pandemic and the demanding times we find ourselves in now.
“Increased production costs, challenging logistics and soaring food inflation in our most important markets have raised seafood prices, but at the same time means that we are facing uncertain times when purchasing power weakens and markets are changing rapidly.”
Fisheries Minister Bjørnar Skjaeran said the achievement once again confirmed seafood’s position as the country’s second most important export industry.
In the third quarter (July-September), exports hit a record NOK 39 billion (£3.25bn) up from NOK 36bn (£3bn) last year with salmon representing 72% of that figure and 49% of the total export volume.
Salmon exports during Q3 totalled 355,000 tonnes and were worth NOK 28bn (£2.3bn).
Chramer said in the EU home consumption was falling but restaurants were now taking an increasing share, compensating for the decline in grocery sales.
He added:“However, there are challenges in other parts of our seafood exports. Dry fish has a weak development so far this year, and there is a decrease in volume for both fresh and frozen cod fillet products.”
Poland and Denmark, two important salmon processing countries and France were once again the most important markets.The average price for salmon during the quarter was NOK 71.8 (£5.99) per kg, up by 26% on the same period last year.
September turned out to be another record month with exports increasing by 27% on a year ago to NOK 15.1 bn (£1.25bn), a rise of 30% or NOK 6.5bn (£540m) on Q3 last year.
The value of September salmon exports rose by 34% to NOK 10.4bn (£866m) on a volume growth of 6%.
THE Faroese Government has presented the country’s parliament with details on how it plans to increase the revenue tax on the salmon farming industry.
The Faroes proposal includes three important changes to the current revenue tax system, originally introduced in 2014:
• changing the number of applicable tax rates from three to five;
• increasing the salmon price thresholds that determine when each tax rate is applicable; and
• linking the salmon price threshold to the average production cost for the Faroese salmon industry, which will be assessed annually.
The thresholds are based on the average annual production cost for the Faroese salmon industry. For 2023, an average production cost of 39.15 DKK (£4.63)/kg will be applied.
For 2023, the proposed change means that the revenue tax rates are likely to be:
• 0.5% if the salmon spot price is less than 39.15 DKK per kg (approx. £4.63 per kg);
• 2.5% if the salmon spot price is between 39.15 and 44.15 DKK per kg (approx. £4.63-£5.22 per kg);
• 5.0% if the salmon price is between 44.15 and 54.15 DKK per kg (approx. £5.22-£6.40 per kg);
• 7.5% if the salmon price is between 54.15 and 69.15 DKK per kg (approx. £6.40-£8.18 per kg); and
• 10% if the salmon price is above 69.15 DKK per kg (approx. £8.18 per kg).
The proposed changes have yet to be approved by the Faroese Parliament.
Ahead of the official announcement, the CEO of Faroesbased salmon producer Bakkafrost CEO Regin Jacobsen alerted shareholders to the news that the Faroes is following Norway in imposing new taxes on the aquaculture industry.
Jacobsen has yet to disclose how much the proposals will cost the company but some reports suggest the industry as a whole may have to stump up an extra DKK 60 million – around £7m.