Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Marianne Sivertsen Næss, and the Chinese Minister of Customs and Veterinary Authorities, Yu Jianhua, during their meeting in Beijing.
Photo: Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans of Norway.
The export of live Norwegian snow crab to China could be closer after the "positive signals" received during the bilateral meeting the Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Marianne Sivertsen Næss, held in Beijing with the Chinese Minister of Customs and Veterinary Authorities, Yu Jianhua.
China is the world's largest market for live snow crab, but at the moment, snow crab from Norway is not approved for export to the Chinese market. Therefore, the export of live Norwegian snow crab was a key issue on the agenda of Minister Sivertsen Næss during her recent trip to the Asian country.
"During the meeting with the Chinese minister, we received positive signals that China is likely to approve the import of live snow crab from Norway in the near future," said the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans. However, she also warned that the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet) still has "some work to do" before Norway can reach the final goal.
"Live snow crab is gaining increasing interest in several Asian markets," Marianne Sivertsen Næss explained, and went further, "Snow crab has the potential to evolve from a raw commodity into a branded product, similar to how live king crab once did."
"Access to the Chinese market could make snow crab even more profitable than it is today, and at the same time, this could help create increased activity and positive ripple effects for the Norwegian onshore industry," she added.
To achieve this, Norway's Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans has taken several measures, such as the decision earlier this year that, from 2025, 10% of the total snow crab quota will be allocated for the delivery of live crab.
This fishery is also being regulated by other measures, such as preventing non-Norwegian vessels from fishing snow crab in the Svalbard archipelago, a decision of the Ministry's dependent agency, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, which the Supreme Court of Norway upheld in March.
Beyond snow crab, during the meeting, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries (NFD), the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, and Chinese customs and veterinary authorities also discussed the approval of imports of other live seafood products, as well as other important issues related to seafood trade at the technical level.
In addition, during the meeting, it was agreed to initiate a dialogue on the exchange of electronic health certificates in the seafood trade. "The meeting was positive, and the dialogue will continue," stated the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries. She then announced that the Norwegian Food Safety Authority will shortly invite the seafood industry to a briefing on access to the Chinese market.
The Norwegian Fisheries Minister also met with the Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Han Jun. In this case, the main focus of the meeting was on shared global responsibility for the sustainable management of fishery resources.
"We agreed to continue bilateral dialogue on research and management in the fisheries sector," said the Norwegian Minister Marianne Sivertsen Næss.
