Norway exported king crab worth NOK 529 million in 2016, an increase of 45 per cent from the year before. Exports of snow crab were worth NOK 338 million in 2016, an increase of 74 per cent from 2015. Sweden was the largest export market for seafood from Norway in 2016, followed by Japan and South Korea.
”The increased export value of shellfish in 2016 is a result of increased catches and high prices in the markets for both king crabs and snow crab. While catches of prawns increased slightly in 2016, prices for Norwegian prawn products was lower than the previous year”, says analyst Kristin Lien with the Norwegian Seafood Council.
Sweden is the largest market for prawn exports
Sweden was in 2016 the largest export market for Norwegian prawns, worth NOK 387 million. This is an increase of 9 per cent from 2015. For Finland, which was the second largest market, exports fell by 18 per cent to NOK 110 million. Britain was our third largest market with exports of NOK 97 million in 2016. This represents an increase of 83 per cent from 2015.
Strong growth for live red king crabs
Norway exported live red king crabs worth some NOK 261 million in 2016. That's an increase of 90 per cent from 2015. The main market in 2016 was South Korea which accounted for 62 percent of exports.
US and Canada combined was the second largest market. Frozen red king crab exports have grown by 18 per cent to NOK 269 million in 2016, with Japan as their main export market. The amendment to the start of the quota year to January 1, instead of in September has resulted in a significant increase in the value of red king crab exports. Live red king crabs constituted 49 per cent of red king crab exports in 2016. This is an increase of 38 per cent from 2015.
USA is the largest market for snow crab
Norway exported 3,952 tonnes of frozen snow crab worth NOK 331 million in 2016. That's an increase of 80 per cent from 2015. The average price of frozen snow crab was in 2016 at NOK 83.73 per kg, up from NOK 61.39 per kg in 2015. The largest export markets for snow crab in 2016 were the United States and Japan.
