Norway exported herring, mackerel and capelin worth NOK 1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2016. This represents an increase of 60 per cent from Q1 2015. Herring exports amounted to NOK 862 million in the first quarter. An increase of 74 per cent year-on-year. Exports of mackerel totaled NOK 777 million. This represents an increase of 44 per cent and solder exports increased by 78 per cent to NOK 133 million.
”The increase in export values of pelagic fish in the first quarter is a result of both higher export volumes and higher prices”, says Paul Aandahl analyst at the Norwegian Seafood Council.
Germany, Poland and Ukraine are the biggest markets for Norwegian herring exports.
41,000 tonnes of frozen whole herring were exported in the first quarter. An increase of 56 per cent compared with the same period last year. The average price of frozen whole herring increased by 20 per cent from Q1 2015 to NOK 9.20 per kg in the first quarter of this year. The largest markets for frozen whole herring were Ukraine and Egypt.
24,000 tonnes of frozen herring fillet products were exported in the first quarter. An increase of 34 per cent. The average price of frozen herring fillet products in the first quarter of 2016 was NOK 16.97 per kg. This is an increase of 24 per cent year-on-year. The largest markets for sales of frozen herring fillet products are Germany and Poland.
The growing Nigerian market for mackerel
69 000 tonnes of frozen whole mackerel were exported in the first quarter. An increase of 43 per cent compared with the same period in 2015. The average price of frozen whole mackerel in the first quarter was NOK 10.85 per kg. This is an increase of 4 per cent from the first quarter of last year. The largest markets are Nigeria which imported 8,000 tonnes and Japan which imported 7,800 tonnes.
Increased exports of capelin
16,000 tonnes of frozen capelin were exported in the first quarter. This is an increase of 12 per cent compared with the same period last year. The average price of frozen whole capelin was NOK 5.26 per kg in the first quarter. An increase of 59 per cent from the same period last year. The vast majority of capelin has been bound for China and Lithuania.