“Exports of Norwegian Cod continue to show growth, and July saw a marked increase in exports of frozen whole Norwegian Cod to China,”says Egil Ove Sundheim, director of market information with the Norwegian Seafood Council.
“The strong growth figures for July this year are a consequence of the situation in July 2012 when the Chinese processing industry was hit by a dearth of orders from the EU, which in turn impacted exports of frozen and headed fish from Norway. In July this year, however, exports of frozen whole Norwegian Cod to China have set a new record for exports in a single month.”
Exports of frozen groundfish in July increased in value by NOK 115.5 million to a total of NOK 359 million compared to July 2012. The increase is attributable to exports of frozen whole Norwegian Cod, which increased in volume by 6,955 tonnes and in value by NOK 98 million. The average price fell by 18 per cent to NOK 15.57 per kg. Exports of frozen whole Norwegian cod to China increased in volume by 5,576 tonnes to 6,034 tonnes.
Growth in exports of fresh products
The value of exports of fresh groundfish products in July totalled NOK 86 million. This is an increase of NOK 3.1 million or 4 per cent compared to the same month last year. Exports of fresh fillet products increased in volume by 89 tonnes and in value by NOK 3.2 million. The increase in volume was evenly shared between Norwegian Cod, haddock and saithe.
In the same period, the volume of exports of fresh whole groundfish has declined by 341 tonnes at the same time as the average price has increased by 9 per cent. Exports of fresh whole Norwegian Cod increased in volume by 303 tonnes and in value by NOK 5 million. The average price of both fresh whole Norwegian Cod and Norwegian Saithe fell by NOK 3 per kg, while the average price for haddock increased by NOK 2.1 per kg.
Clipfish exports down
Clipfish exports fell in value in July by NOK 46 million to a total of NOK 182 million compared to July 2012, while the volume of exports was down by 64 tonnes to a total of 6,040 tonnes.
The value of exports of Norwegian Cod clipfish in July totalled NOK 79 million, compared to a total of NOK 118 million in July 2012. In the same period, the average price fell by NOK 10.3 per kg, while the volume of exports fell from 2,513 tonnes to 2,146 tonnes, a reduction of 15 per cent. The value of exports of Norwegian Saithe clipfish was down by NOK 2.7 million to a total of NOK 89 million.
Clipfish exports to Portugal in July fell in volume by 391 tonnes compared to July last year and the export value totalled NOK 50 million, a drop of NOK 33 million. The second biggest market for clipfish, Brazil, saw the value of exports fall from NOK 39 million to NOK 27 million.
Salted fish exports to Spain up in volume
The value of exports of salted fish, both whole and filleted, totalled NOK 33 million in July, down by NOK 6 million from July 2012. Exports to Portugal, the biggest market for salted fish, were down in value from NOK 28 million to NOK 20 million, while exports to Spain increased in volume by 121 tonnes to 289 tonnes and in value by NOK 1.6 million.
Stockfish
The first sales month of the year for stockfish saw exports, both whole and filleted, valued at NOK 32 million. This is down by NOK 3 million from July last year. The volume of exports of all species of stockfish totalled 347 tonnes, up by 9 tonnes compared to July last year.
The value of exports of Norwegian Cod stockfish from Lofoten to Italy in July totalled NOK 7.3 million, down by NOK 9 million from the same month last year. The average export price fell by 17 per cent to NOK 116 per kg.
Continued downturn for aquaculture
The volume of exports of products from aquaculture in July totalled 276 tonnes. This is a decline of 103 tonnes compared to July 2012. Exports of Norwegian Cod from aquaculture were down in volume by 97 tonnes and in value by NOK 3.1 million to NOK 6.8 million.
