The total value of mackerel exports in September 2010 was NOK 1.3 billion, an increase of NOK 935 million or 273 percent compared to September 2009. Exports of herring in show an increase in value of 10 percent, from NOK 127 million in September 2009 to NOK 140 million in September 2010. The total value of exports of pelagic fish in the first nine months of the year was NOK 4.6 billion, up by 13 percent compared to the same period last year.
In a single month such a record volume of mackerel never been exported. Senior analyst Kristin Lien from the Norwegian Seafood Export Council, said that the large volume of exports in September is attributable to two primary factors. He added that the extraordinarily large quotas combined with the fact that the fish arrived very early this year compared to previous years, and that Japan in particular has imported a large volume of mackerel, both directly and via China.
The largest market is Japan and most of the mackerel were exported to this nation. The rest is divided between many markets, the biggest being Nigeria (23,000 tonnes), Turkey (7,000 tonnes) and the Netherlands (5,000 tonnes). The average price of frozen whole mackerel in September showed a fall of 8 percent or NOK 0.82 compared to September last year.
In the first nine months of 2010, mackerel exports totalled NOK 1.9 billion, an increase of no less than 77 percent compared to the same period last year. In the first nine months of 2010, the value of exports of herring products to Russia totalled NOK 600 million, which is 9 percent lower than in the same period last year.
