Arctic Fish workers at one of its salmon farms in Iceland. This species alone accounted for about 82% of Iceland's total export value in the first seven months of 2024.
Photo: Arctic Fish.
The value of aquaculture products exports from Iceland reached ISK 27.3 billion (EUR 178 million / USD 197.8 million) in the first seven months of the year. According to information provided by Radarinn - Icelandic Dashboard of Fisheries and Aquaculture - this figure marks a record, as it is the highest value recorded for this period.
In Icelandic króna, this represents an increase of just over 18% compared to the same period last year. However, due to a slight strengthening of the Icelandic króna during this period, the increase in foreign currency terms is slightly higher at just over 19%.
As is common to see in neighboring Norway, most of the increase in the value of Iceland's aquaculture exports is due to salmon farming. Through July, the value of farmed salmon exports increased by about 28% compared to the same period in 2023, to ISK 22.4 billion (EUR 146.1 million / USD 162.3 million), accounting for about 82% of the total export value.
The other record-setting species is Senegalese sole, one of the world's most valuable edible fish. Export revenues for this species have never been higher than this year in Iceland, exceeding ISK 1 billion (EUR 6.5 million / USD 7.2 million), representing an increase of more than 160% over the same period last year. In just seven months of 2004, its value already exceeds that of the entire year 2023 which reached just over ISK 800 million (EUR 5.2 million / USD 5.7 million) and, at the time, was a record.
Against those record figures, the Icelandic Dashboard of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Radarinn, highlights that there is a "notable decline" in the value of trout exports, which has fallen by about the same amount as salmon has risen, just over 18%. The value of trout exports - which is mostly Arctic char - was just under ISK 3.3 billion (EUR 21.5 million / USD 23.9 million) in the first seven months of last year, but has now fallen to just under ISK 2.7 billion (EUR 17.6 million / USD 19.5 million).
The other Icelandic aquaculture product that has seen a downward trend up to the end of July 2024 has been fertilized salmon eggs. Despite being a high-tech, high-value product, its export value has declined by 28% to just over ISK 1 billion (EUR 6.5 million / USD 7.2 million) compared to almost ISK 1.5 billion (EUR 9.7 million / USD 10.8 million) last year.