The share of farmed products - such as Arnarlax salmon in the picture - in the total export value of Icelandic seafood products was nearly 28% last month.
Photo: Arnarlax.
Aquaculture continues to strengthen in Iceland and its export value appears unstoppable. With farmed seafood products generating more than ISK 8,000 million (EUR 54.5 million / USD 56.6 million) in export revenues, January became the second largest month in exported aquaculture products in history.
Still without figures for individual species - they will be available at the end of the month -, according to the preliminary trade figures published by Statistics Iceland, compared to January last year, the increase was approximately 22% measured in Icelandic kroner although the figure rises to over 24% at a fixed exchange rate.
Moreover, as highlighted by Radarinn, the Icelandic fisheries and aquaculture industry directory, in January not only did the value of Icelandic aquaculture product exports increase, but their share in the value of the country's total exports also increased.
In January 2025, the total value of Icelandic goods exports as a whole also increased by approximately 21% at a fixed exchange rate year-over-year. Within that total value of exports, aquaculture's growth outpaced that of other export categories, and the share of aquaculture rose from 8.3% to 8.6% year-over-year.
The data provided by Radarinn, becomes even more important considering that, last month, the export value of seafood products remained almost unchanged compared to January 2024, while the share of farmed products in the total export value of seafood products was nearly 28%. This is the highest share ever recorded in a single month.
A trend the Icelandic dashboard of the fishing and aquaculture industry already highlighted in its assessment release of the December trade figures. "It is clear to all that aquaculture is already a significant component of Icelandic merchandise exports and will undoubtedly contribute even more in the coming years," Radarinn stated then.
Likewise, the dashboard pointed out this development is highly positive, as aquaculture increases diversity in exports and strengthens Iceland's foreign currency earnings, with corresponding positive effects on employment and communities across the country.
The good results for January 2025 come on top of those already achieved in 2024. After breaking records in July, August, September, and October, and despite the November blip, Iceland closed last year with an export value of aquaculture products amounting to nearly ISK 54 billion (EUR 373.1 million / USD 382.5 million), the highest ever recorded.
Last year, the export value of aquaculture products accounted for more than 15% of the export value of seafood products and approximately 6% of the total export value of goods in Iceland. As a consequence, the export revenue from fish farming also increased, by more than 16% over 2023.
Finally, 2024 marked yet another trend: although, as expected, cod ranked first, salmon generated the second-highest export value of all fish species exported from Iceland between January and November last year, 30% higher than that of haddock, which ranked third on this list.
