Norway is the leading exporter of fish to the EU
Source: Lerøy Havfisk AS
By Marek Grzybowski
The EU and Norway have concluded negotiations on the management of shared stocks in the Skagerrak and Kattegat, quota exchanges and mutual access to waters in early December 2024. The EU release emphasises that “These agreements secure key fishing opportunities for 2025, as well as predictability and access for EU fleets operating in Norwegian waters, including the North Sea and the Skagerrak”. This means reduced quotas for fishermen and pelagic fisheries and difficult access to fish caught in open waters.
Źródło: EUMOFA, 2024
Trawler operators from Norway say that things are not good and will get worse. The fleet of the main Norwegian fishing company has been affected by reduced fishing quotas, reports High North News. “The situation regarding fishing quotas until the end of 2024 and the prospect of further quota reductions in 2025 are challenging,” reports Lerøy Seafood Group ASA in its latest quarterly report. This is Norway’s largest fishing company. The results for the third quarter of 2024 show a significant decrease in income from open water fish due to significantly reduced quotas.
Lerøy Seafood Group trawlers catch whitefish. Catches are carried out by the activities of the subsidiary Lerøy Havfisk. This is Norway’s largest operator. Lerøy Havfisk AS is a fishing company with 10 fishing vessels and 29.6 licenses for cod fishing. Summarizing revenues and costs from the sea fish segment in the third quarter, Lerøy Seafood ended with a loss of -NOK 58 million. The unfavorable quarter from 2023 was repeated, when the operator ended the third quarter with a loss of -NOK 38 million.
Source: Lerøy Havfisk AS
Sustainable exchange
The EU communication emphasises that “the EU and Norway have concluded a sustainable exchange of fishing opportunities of high economic value. In addition to other stocks, the EU will receive 10,316 tonnes of Arctic cod for 2025 and will transfer 81,750 tonnes of blue whiting and 1,700 tonnes of shrimp to Norway. The secured quotas will provide the EU fleet with increased fishing opportunities in Norwegian waters in 2025.
Reciprocal access to the waters of the North Sea will be maintained, allowing both EU and Norwegian fishermen to maintain their activities. No agreement could be reached on access to blue whiting and Atlantic herring caught in Norwegian waters. – Consultations on these two pelagic stocks will continue with a view to a rapid solution to the problem – emphasises the EU.
Źródło: Fish Farming Expert, Norwegian Seafood Council graphic, 2024
Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for cod, haddock, herring, plaice and whiting in the Skagerrak have been agreed. Both the EU and Norway have agreed to continue restrictions on herring fishing in the Skagerrak in order to secure the recovery of the Western Baltic herring stock, which is mixed with the North Sea herring stock. The EU has called on Norway to introduce additional restrictions in Norwegian waters of the North Sea, where the vast majority of catches of Western Baltic herring currently take place. According to the signatories, such restrictions will help to further protect the recovery of the stock, in addition to the measures already taken by the EU in the Baltic Sea and Kattegat. The parties have also signed an agreement covering Swedish fisheries in Norwegian waters of the North Sea. Despite the poor performance of deep-sea fishermen, aquaculture is saving the fishing business and industry. Rising prices and increased volumes led to the highest export value of Norwegian seafood in the history of the Norwegian fishing industry in November, reports the Norwegian Seafood Council.
Źródło: Fish Farming Expert, Norwegian Seafood Council graphic, 2024
– We have seen several months of solid growth in seafood exports in a row, and this trend continued in November. With the price increases for salmon, mackerel, cod, codfish and herring, this was the best November ever in terms of value, said Christian Chramer, CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council. Unlike in previous years, seafood exports were not supported by the weak Norwegian krone.
– Compared to the same month last year, the Norwegian krone is slightly stronger against the euro, but weaker against the US dollar. There is no currency effect in total, so the growth in value is mainly driven by higher prices and increased volumes of some of our most important species, explains Chramer. However, there has been a noticeable increase in costs and stronger competition from global players. The growth in the export value of Norwegian seafood does not mean a dynamic increase in profits for the fishing business.
Even before the EU-Norway agreements were signed, Christian Chramer noted: “When it comes to sea fishing, many are worried about the consequences of new quota cuts.” The problem is the difficult farming, as many salmon companies are experiencing greater technological challenges as a result of the rising sea temperatures. Production costs are constantly rising and “many people are facing a more difficult financial situation at the same time as seafood exports are increasing,” notes Chramer.
EU countries bought the most Norwegian fish. In total, Norway exported NOK 10 billion worth of seafood in November. In 11 months, Norway exported NOK 160.4 billion worth of seafood. This is NOK 2.3 billion, or 1.5%, more than during the same period last year.
– So far, 2024 has been a good year for Norwegian seafood exports in value terms. Higher prices have largely compensated for the quota cuts for cod, herring and mackerel. If the favorable trend continues in December, we will exceed last year’s export record of NOK 172 billion by the end of the year, predicts Christian Chramer.
Źródło: EUMOFA, 2024
Recovery in Q3 2024
The good results in 2024 were already foreshadowed by the results achieved in Q3 of this year. At that time, seafood exports from Norway reached NOK 44.1 billion (EUR 3.7 million) in Q3 2024, which means an increase of 5%, or NOK 2.2 billion (EUR 188 million) compared to the same period in 2023. After a weak first half of 2024, the increase was significant enough for Norway to once again achieve a positive net export result in value terms in the first three quarters of the year. This was due to record production from fish farms in September.
Already in Q3 of this year, revenues from fish exports were not affected by exchange rates. Previous increases in export value were largely due to the weaker Norwegian krone. This situation contributed to the uncertainty about the size of seafood exports in 2023. The weak Norwegian krone was largely responsible for the increase in the value of seafood exports in the country in the second half of 2023. Excluding exchange rates, fish exports were at a similar level to 2023.
As recently as July 2024, the Norwegian Seafood Council assumed a deterioration in the export results of fish and seafood producers. “We do not foresee an emergency landing, because seafood from Norway is strong. However, there is no getting away from the fact that there are some dark clouds on the horizon,” Chramer announced at the time. The negative forecasts were based on the fact that in 2024 there was a significant reduction in the fishing quota for cod from the Barents Sea. In 2024, it was reduced by 31% compared to the previous year. In addition, there were problems with the profitability of fishing fleets related to cuts in the fishing quotas for herring, mackerel and king crab.
Despite these restrictions, the Norwegian fishing industry continued to grow in value. “The year 2024 was marked by a reduction in fishing quotas for herring, king crab, mackerel and cod. This is an important and necessary measure to maintain sustainable fish stocks, but it naturally led to a reduction in export volumes,” explains Chramer, emphasizing that “the fact that the total export value of seafood nevertheless increased in the third quarter is due to aquaculture fish compensating for the reduction in quotas.”
Źródło: EUMOFA, 2024
Aquaculture saves exports
Salmon remained Norway’s largest export value, accounting for NOK 31.8 billion (EUR 2.72 billion) in Q3 2024, up 3% compared to the same period last year and accounting for 70% of Norway’s fish export value. The country exported 372,442 metric tons (MT) of salmon, an 8% increase in volume.
Germany provided strong growth in Norwegian fish export value. German purchases of Norwegian seafood increased by NOK 355 million (EUR 30.4 million) – up 32% compared to Q3 2023. Germany also saw the highest increase in fish import value from Norway in November. An increase in export value of NOK 149 million, or 34%, was achieved compared to the same month last year. Exports to Germany totalled 5,881 tonnes, which is 34% more than during the same period last year.
Salmon, herring and mackerel are the three species that have contributed to the increase in value this year. Christian Chramer stated: “This autumn has been historically good for mackerel and herring. Over the past three months, prices for these species have reached historically high levels, and demand is strong in the most important markets. At the same time, salmon exports exceeded NOK 12 billion for the first time in November, strengthening its position as the most important Norwegian seafood export.”
Poland, France and the Netherlands were the largest markets for salmon in November. Norway exported 131,232 tonnes of salmon in November, worth NOK 12.1 billion. The export value increased by NOK 619 million, or 5%, compared to the same month last year. This is a 3% increase in volume. This is a record export value for salmon in a single month. The record export was NOK 224 million higher than in the previous record month, in October 2023. The largest markets for Norwegian seafood in November were Poland, the USA and the Netherlands. The Netherlands recorded the largest increase in the value of imports from Norway (NOK 174 million, or 17%) compared to the same month last year. The export volume to the Netherlands reached 15,908 tonnes, which is 10% more than during the same period last year. Norwegian seafood was exported to a total of 113 countries in November. This is five countries less than in November last year.