Sales of fresh whole Norwegian salmon were 15% lower in the week running up to Easter, compared to the corresponding week the previous year, as the coronavirus impacted consumer demand, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council.
"Normally, we see an increase in salmon exports in the week before Easter," commented Paul Aandahl, seafood analyst at the Norwegian Seafood Council, who said that fresh fish sales have been affected by Norwegian consumers seeking out products with a longer shelf life.
Export Market
Exports, on the other hand, have held up fairly well, with a 1% increase in fresh whole salmon to the European Union in Week 14 2020, compared to the same week the previous year.
Driving this growth were exports to Lithuania (+18%), Germany (+14%), Finland (+146%) and the UK (+25%), while Poland (8%), Italy (32%), France (16%) and Spain (9%) saw exports decline.
Fresh whole salmon exports to Asia were down 7% in the same week, however there was an increase in exports to China, by 32%, as the Asian country started to lift some coronavirus-related restrictions.
Exports to Thailand (-75%) and Malaysia (-69%), however, saw a sizeable decline, due to reduced demand from the tourism industry and the loss of air cargo capacity respectively.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
