Although October was the second highest month this year for Norway’s seafood exports, with record salmon exports in both volume and value terms, overall seafood exports were down 1% as both herring and mackerel dropped.
‘The main reason for the decline in the value of seafood exports in October was a sharp fall in the export volume of mackerel and herring,’ said Norwegian Seafood Council CEO Christian Chramer.
Last month exports of herring were 16,796 tonnes with a value of NoK381 million, which is 28% down on the same month in 2024, while the volume is down 38%. The figures for mackerel are more dramatic, with 27,150 tonnes of mackerel valued at NoK1.3 billion exported last month. in October. That’s a 47% drop in value, and a 71% drop in volume.
‘We have to go back to 2015 to find a lower export volume of herring in the month of October. The low volume is due to a late start to the autumn season for NVG herring. With good fishing towards the end of the month and a higher quota than last year, we expect exports to pick up in the coming months,’ says Jan Eirik Johnsen, head of pelagic fish at the Norwegian Seafood Council.
‘In addition to the decline in volume, there was a significant increase in the price of mackerel. With the prospect of a very low quota next year, prices continued to rise in October, and the average price to the fisherman was NoK47.16 per kg, compared with NoK23.84 per kg for the same month last year.’ He commented that demands significantly exceeds supply – and the expectation is that this situation is going to get tougher.
‘There are warning signals coming all the way from the industry in Norway to customers out in the markets. Many people are wondering how this will affect the market when fish purchased from fishermen for around NoK50 reaches consumers,’ Jan Eirik Johnsen said.
‘The big question in the industry now is what the coastal states will come up with in their negotiations. Will there finally be a comprehensive agreement between all the coastal states that also involves a distribution of the total quota? Either way, the industry both at home and abroad is facing a tough period with low mackerel volumes and a price level that was unimaginable only a short time ago.’
