November 12, 2010

Norway reports strong growth in October mackerel exports

Exports of Norwegian mackerel in October 2010 were valued at NOK865 million (US$145 million), an increase of 40% compared to October 2009.

Exports of herring showed a drop in value of 30%, down from NOK544 million (US$91.2 million) in October 2009 to NOK380 million (US$63.7 million) in October 2010. Total exports of pelagic fish in October 2010 were valued at NOK1.3 billion (US$218 million), an increase of 9% from October last year.

"The figures for October reflect the higher mackerel quota, which has found its way to well-paid markets, as well as a herring season that arrived a little later than usual," an analyst said.

"The Japanese market is once again positioned as our most important consumer market for mackerel. So far this year, over half of all mackerel exports from Norway have been destined for Japan," she said. This includes exports to China for processing and re-exporting to Japan.

The volume of frozen mackerel exports in October totalled 67,000 tonnes, up by 9,000 tonnes from October last year. Most of the mackerel exports were for the Japanese consumer market, with 27,000 tonnes exported directly to Japan and 14,000 tonnes to China, most of it for filleting/processing and re-export to Japan.

The remaining exports go to many different markets, of which Turkey (6,000 tonnes), the Netherlands (5,000 tonnes), and South Korea (4,000 tonnes) are the biggest. In October, the average price of frozen whole mackerel was NOK12.64 (US$2.12), up by NOK2.45 (US$0.41) compared to the same month last year.

In October, exports of frozen whole herring totalled 49,000 tonnes, down some 26,000 tonnes from the same month last year. The main importers of herring from Norway are Nigeria (20,000 tonnes) and Russia (13,000 tonnes). The average price in October 2010 was 6% up from October last year.

Exports of frozen herring fillet products totalled 14,000 tonnes, a decline of 8,000 tonnes compared to October last year. The main export markets are Belarus (5,000 tonnes), Russia and Poland. The average price in October was 7% higher than in the same month last year.