In April, Norway exported salmon worth NOK 10 billion, accounting for 71% of the total export value.
Photo: Norwegian Seafood Council.
After setting a new annual record in 2024 and growing by 9% in the first quarter of 2025, the value of Norwegian seafood exports set another record high in April, the best in history. Last month, Norway exported seafood products worth NOK 14.3 billion, which is NOK 293 million - up 2% - compared to the same period last year. Neither trade instability nor falling prices were able to keep Norwegian salmon, which is looking equally to the East and the West, as both grow in demand.
"Despite the turmoil in world trade, the favourable trend for Norwegian seafood exports continued. Norway has never before exported seafood for a higher value in the month of April. The growth is due to increased export volumes and rising demand for Norwegian salmon in important markets such as the USA and China," said Christian Chramer, CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC).
In April, Norway exported seafood worth NOK 913.8 million to China, an increase of 14% compared with the same month last year. "This is due to strong underlying growth in the Chinese salmon market and the fact that Norwegian salmon is both readily available and sold at competitive prices," NSC's CEO explained.
Thus, although it was not the main destination market for Norwegian salmon exports - it ranked third after Poland and the U.S. - the sharp increase recorded in April has turned all eyes towards the Asian giant, especially amid uncertainty about what will happen with the U.S. tariffs.
Last month, Norwegian salmon exports to China totaled 8,224 tons, up 188% from the same period last year. This is the highest volume recorded to China in a single month. And so far this year, Norway has exported 26,000 tons of salmon to the Asian country, an increase of 106%.
"In the first quarter, total Chinese imports of fresh whole salmon grew by 33 per cent, and we expect this growth to continue in April. This means that we have the effect of the market getting bigger at the same time as Norwegian salmon is gaining market share," said Sigmund Bjørgo, the Norwegian Seafood Council's envoy to China. The figures recorded in April have confirmed his forecasts.
Thus, aided by the 16% price drop resulting from increased supply following volume growth in Norway and other European salmon-producing countries, China had the largest growth in value in April, up NOK 338 million, or 88%, compared to April 2024.
This strong increase in salmon exports to China contrasts with the sharp drop in frozen whole cod, which fell by 81% in April, to only 372 tons. As explained by the Norwegian Seafood Council, in this case, the tariffs on Chinese exports introduced by the Trump administration do seem to have had something to do with it.
"Since the US import ban on Russian cod was announced in December 2023, much of the Norwegian cod exported to China has been processed and re-exported to the US market. Although large fluctuations in exports to China are not unusual in individual months, the recently introduced US tariffs against China have probably contributed to a sharp reduction in Chinese demand for frozen whole cod from Norway," explained NSC's seafood analyst Eivind Hestvik Brækkan.
After doing so in January, February, and March, in April, for the fourth month in a row and despite uncertainty over tariffs, the United States again recorded the highest growth in value for Norwegian seafood exports. In total, Norway exported seafood products to the United States worth NOK 1.4 billion, which represents an increase of NOK 263 million, up 23%, compared to the same period last year.
"April was characterised by a lot of noise and uncertainty related to the introduction of increased tariffs to the USA. It is too early to conclude what effect this will have on Norwegian seafood exports, but the Norwegian Seafood Council is following this issue closely," Christian Chramer said.
Concerns about a possible trade war are not only occupying the NSC; just this week in Barcelona, Norway's Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Marianne Sivertsen Næss, held a closed-door meeting on trade issues with stakeholders from the Norwegian seafood industry during the Seafood Expo Global 2025.
As mentioned above, in terms of value, the U.S. was the second largest destination market for Norwegian salmon, behind Poland - a regular processing destination country -, and ahead of China, April's "surprise." With an increase of NOK 216 million - up 26% - last month, so far this year, the U.S. is its largest market in value terms, with NOK 4400 million, and it alone accounts for 11% of total Norwegian salmon exports.
"The strong growth in salmon exports to the US that we saw throughout the first quarter continued in April," explained seafood analyst of the Norwegian Seafood Council, Paul T. Aandahl. In these first four months of the year, salmon exports to the U.S. have grown by 54% in volume and 42% in value compared to the same period in 2024.
"There's a lot of salmon of the right size and superior quality available in the market, so prices are falling slightly. So far this year, Norway has exported 29,000 tonnes of salmon to the US, with a value of NOK 4.4 billion," said Anne-Kristine Øen, the Norwegian Seafood Council's envoy to the US.
Salmon, with NOK 1 billion, was the leading species in terms of value exported from Norway to the U.S. in April. It was followed by snow crab with NOK 139.8 million, trout with NOK 92.8 million, mackerel with NOK 35.6 million, and king crab with NOK 23.6 million. Despite tariffs and uncertainty, the U.S. was the fastest-growing market for Norwegian king crab in April.
In total, Norway exported 273,000 tons of seafood products in April, an increase of 30,000 tons over the same month last year. As mentioned above, in value terms, this amounted to a total of NOK 14,300 million, NOK 293 million more than in April 2024, the best April ever.
Norwegian seafood products were exported to a total of 113 countries, four more than in April last year, with the United States as the main recipient country, followed by two regular processing destinations, Poland and Denmark. Specifically, the export volume to the U.S. closed at 11,670 tons, which is 32% more than the same period last year.
Beyond salmon, April was a strong month for trout, which increased in value compared to the corresponding month of the previous year for the tenth consecutive month. The value of fresh cod also increased by 7% - NOK 23 million - compared to April 2024; however, in volume terms, Norwegian cod exports fell by 14%.
In the case of fresh wild cod, export volume fell further to 24% in a month that saw the end of a skrei season that has been hit hard by quota cuts. Meanwhile, fresh farmed cod increased its export volume, rising by 17% to 1381 tons, while the value increased by 32% to NOK 91 million. Farmed cod accounted for 27% of the export value of fresh cod in April.
April was also a good month for king crab, whose exports experienced strong growth. Norway exported 97 tons of king crab worth NOK 41 million. The U.S., Hong Kong SAR, and Canada were the largest markets.
Snow crab exports also reached an all-time high in April in terms of value. A total of 1,051 tons of snow crab were exported with a value of NOK 218 million. Higher prices this year offset the drop in volume compared to April last year.
It was also a good month for prawn - 2,982 tonnes worth NOK 166 million -, with a larger proportion of what is caught in the Barents Sea cooked on board, while at the same time, the Norwegian share to China for consumption and Morocco for further processing increased.
Finally, good April also for mackerel - 9,111 tonnes worth NOK 289 million were exported -, which, like snow crab, benefited from tight supply and solid demand to fetch higher prices. The same was true for herring exports, which, despite being in low season in April, were able to maintain the trend of low volumes and higher prices that have characterized the year.
