Fish counter with Norwegian salmon fillets in the U.S.
Photo: Trude Bessesen / Norwegian Seafood Council.
Following months of uncertainty about what would happen with U.S. tariffs, the day finally arrived. On August 7, 2025, the United States increased its customs tariff to 15% for seafood products from Norway and the European Union, which ultimately affected Norwegian exports.
Neither uncertainty nor market turbulence slowed Norwegian seafood exports in June, nor in July, when China overtook the U.S. as the main destination market, but seafood exports to the North American country continued to grow in terms of value, and in total numbers, Norwegian seafood exports had a historically strong month. However, in August, the streak ended.
"The summer of 2025 has been marked by considerable turmoil in the markets. Changes in customs duties on exports to the U.S. are affecting Norwegian seafood exports and posing challenges for the global seafood trade. In addition, increased competition for both raw materials and customers has made it particularly demanding for many players in the seafood industry," said Christian Chramer, CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC).
Last month, Norway exported seafood worth NOK 14.3 billion, which is a decline of NOK 254 million, or 2%, compared with August 2024. However, if we look at the U.S. market in particular, this decline was even more pronounced, falling 3% compared to the same month last year, but reaching a 15% drop in the case of salmon exports to the United States.
Despite everything, in August 2025, the U.S. was the second largest market for Norwegian seafood exports in value terms, with NOK 1.1 billion, which is 3% down year-on-year. Ahead of it was Poland, with NOK 1.6 million, or down 7%, and behind it was China, with the same value, NOK 1.1 billion, but an increase of 47% compared to the same month last year, making it the country with the highest growth in value.
In addition to salmon, Norwegian seafood exports in August also featured two other key players, cod and mackerel, whose low quotas led to higher prices. "2025 has been characterised by low quotas for important species such as cod and mackerel. At the same time, saithe fishing is weaker than last year. This has led to very high prices in domestic sales, which in turn affects the industry in Norway and markets abroad. For parts of the wild fish industry facing increased prices, this is a challenge," the NSC CEO explained.
This summer has provided very good biological conditions for salmon, resulting in historically high volumes, although this has led to lower-than-usual export prices. "For our largest product, fresh whole salmon, the export price has not been this low since September 2022," Chramer explained.
Norway exported 145,446 tonnes of salmon worth NOK 10.6 billion in August, meaning there was a 17% increase in volume, but the value fell by NOK 95 million, or 1%, compared with the same month last year, with Poland, the U.S., and the Netherlands being the largest destination markets. China, for its part, had the largest value growth, with an increase of NOK 349 million, or 84% compared to August 2024, and a volume 114% higher.
"In turbulent times, it is a strength for Norwegian salmon exports that Norway exports salmon to around 100 countries, and none of the individual markets dominates significantly," assessed seafood analyst Paul T. Aandahl at the Norwegian Seafood Council.
However, in its August 2025 report, the Norwegian Seafood Council acknowledged that the United States is a well-paying niche market for its largest product, fresh whole salmon, which last month saw a 51% drop in value, partly due to the application of the new tariff, according to Karine Rød Haraldsson, NSC representative in the United States.
"There has been a lot of attention surrounding Norway's new 15% tariff. One effect is that it distorts competition. Canada, for example, has no tariffs on seafood imports to the U.S., while Scottish and Faroese salmon are subject to a 10% tariff," she said, adding that there were a few other factors that contributed to the negative development of exports of fresh whole salmon to the U.S. in August.
"Overall production has increased in salmon-producing countries that have lower tariffs to the U.S. than Norway. Competition has thus increased further as a result. In 2025, there has also been a large increase in demand in Asia, particularly in China. The supply of large fish is limited, and global demand is therefore affecting exports to markets such as the U.S.," Haraldsson stated.
The CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council expressed a similar view. "Salmon is the dominant species exported from Norway to the U.S., but Norwegian producers are now experiencing increased competition in the U.S. salmon market. There are different customs tariffs for different countries, and in August, the Norwegian krone strengthened against the dollar compared to the same month last year. This lifted the prices of Norwegian seafood in the US market," said Christian Chramer.
With regard to cod, due to reduced quotas, landings of fresh cod continued to decline in August, contributing to a significant decrease in the volume of fresh wild cod exports. Thus, Norway exported 1,842 tons of fresh cod worth NOK 134 million in August, which translates into a 21% drop in volume and a 6% drop in value, with NOK 8 million less than last year.
However, while the export volume of fresh wild cod fell by 34% to 1,025 tons and the export value fell by 21% to NOK 75 million, the export volume of farmed fresh cod increased by 6% to 817 tons, while the export value rose by 26% to NOK 59 million. This means that fresh farmed cod accounted for 44% of the total value of fresh cod exports in August.
Denmark, the Netherlands, and Lithuania were the largest markets. "As usual, transit and processing markets dominate exports of fresh cod and constitute our three largest destination markets. However, our fourth and fifth largest markets for fresh cod in August are the consumer markets of Spain and France," said NSC seafood analyst Eivind Hestvik Brækkan.
Specifically, exports to Spain increased from 97 to 126 tons, while those to France doubled from 46 to 92 tons. In both markets, fresh farmed cod accounted for more than 90% of the volume.
As for frozen cod, in August, Norway exported 2,057 tonnes of frozen cod worth NOK 182 million, with China, the UK, and Lithuania being the largest markets. Compared to the same month last year, the value fell by NOK 12 million, or 6%, while the volume fell by 24%. For the first time since January this year, China was Norway's largest market for frozen cod, with export volumes remaining unchanged from last year at 878 tons but export value increasing by 22% to NOK 72 million.
Last month's news was that, while the export volume of frozen whole cod fell by 12% to 764 tons, exports of frozen edible by-products to China increased significantly since August 2024, reaching 113 tons. In contrast, the two largest European markets, the United Kingdom and Lithuania, experienced higher growth in exports of frozen whole cod.
Finally, for clipfish made from cod, the export volume increased by 6% to 1,712 tonnes, while export value increased by 29% to NOK 268 million, with a historically high share to Portugal. Norway's largest market for clipfish had the highest value growth in August, with an increase in export value of NOK 66 million, or 44%, compared with the same month last year. The export volume to Portugal ended at 1,372 tonnes, which is 12% up.