Norwegian salmon prices perk up after long low spell

During the past few weeks the salmon market in Norway has been depressed for a variety of reasons.

There have been several infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) outbreaks since the beginning of June and this has led to large scale slaughter in some areas with the result that plenty of fish is available.

The algae attacks in the north of the country during May have not helped either. Worries about the international situation and tariffs have also added to the general feeling of gloom.

Public holidays can also distort the market and Norway has had plenty of those recently.

The Statistics Norway information last week (Week 24) showed fresh salmon at NOK 82.73 per kilo (£6.12) against NOK 72.42 per kilo (£5.36) a week earlier.

This represents an increase of just over NOK 10 or 14.2% on the previous week. This quite large hike should help revive Norway’s June export figures when they are published early next month.

Demand for fresh salmon remains fairly strong with exports hovering around the 18,500 to 20,000 metric ton mark recently. Last week they totalled 18,505 tons, just over 600 downs down on week 23.

Frozen salmon prices fell slightly to NOK 75.44 per kilo (£5.59) while the sale volume also dropped by 70 tons to 651 tons.

The Statistics Norway figures include all weight classes and fish sold on contract.