Fish counter with Norwegian salmon fillets in the U.S. The price of fresh salmon fillets was at a record high of NOK 160 per kg. in January 2025.
Photo: Trude Bessesen / Norwegian Seafood Council.
Amid uncertainty about what will happen with the import tariffs announced by the Trump administration, the Norwegian Seafood Council's (NSC) report on Norwegian seafood exports last month indicates that the U.S. was the largest single market in its best January ever.
Writing "best (insert any month here) ever" as a headline for Norwegian seafood exports performance is almost becoming a habit, but the truth is that the trend repeats itself month after month and year after year. 2024 was another record-breaking year, and if in January 2024 we spoke of "new year, old trends," this year is not far behind.
In January 2025, Norway exported seafood products worth NOK 15.3 billion, an increase of NOK 1.9 billion, or 14%, compared to the same month in 2024. The main reasons behind these figures were higher salmon volumes and growth in the U.S.
"January was characterised by increased export volumes for salmon and solid value growth for several of our wild-caught species. In addition, the Norwegian krone has weakened against both the dollar and the euro compared with January last year. In terms of value, this was the best January ever for Norwegian seafood exports," said Christian Chramer, CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council.
The only index where the January 2025 figures were lower year-on-year was in the number of countries to which Norwegian seafood was exported, which totaled 112 this year, eight fewer than in January 2024.
The U.S. tariffs that Donald Trump had been threatening since his election campaign became a reality on February 1 when the U.S. president ordered a 25% additional tariff on their exports to the U.S. for Mexico and Canada, and 10% for China.
The first two were suspended for a month two days later, on February 3, just one day before their entry into force, but China's tariffs came did it as planned. On the same day, and despite the fact that possible tariffs for Europe are still up in the air, Norwegian salmon companies were already resentful on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Those with interests in Canada did, but also those without.
Not unusual when considering that, as SpareBank 1 Markets analyst Knut-Ivar Bakken recalled in an article published in the Norwegian financial media Dagens Næringsliv, the U.S. market accounts for approximately 23% of the world salmon market. In addition, now we also know that the U.S. was the largest single market for Norwegian seafood exports in January and was so in terms of both value and sales.
Measured in value, Norway exported fish and shellfish to the U.S. market worth NOK 1.5 billion, which accounted for 9.7% of total seafood exports last month. If we talk about sales, it also saw the greatest growth in value, with an increase of NOK 428 million, or 41%, compared with the same month last year.
"Even though President Donald Trump has talked a lot about increased tariffs for his trading partners, we note that January was a historic month for Norwegian seafood exports to the US. Never has Norway exported fish and shellfish worth as much to the U.S market as we did in January. This shows that seafood is also important for Norway in trade with the U.S.," NSC CEO explained.
"Over time, the U.S. has developed into one of our most important individual markets. In January alone, we sold more than NOK 1 billion worth of salmon to the U.S., which is a new value record. This emphasises the importance of having the best possible trade agreements, including with the USA," Christian Chramer continued.
Indeed, salmon was the largest Norwegian seafood species exported to the United States in January in terms of value with NOK 1.1 billion - an increase of 39%. Trout with NOK 110.6 million - this is up 55% -, king crab with NOK 105 million - up 81%, following record prices for frozen red king crab -, mackerel with NOK 31.7 million - up 41% -, and haddock with NOK 23.2 million - up 7% - were next.
Regarding salmon, as mentioned above, the increase in volume resulted in solid exports in January. As Chramer explained, "Salmon and trout have enjoyed good production conditions this autumn and winter with high sea temperatures, which has ensured good growth for the fish. As a result, we exported more salmon in January than in the same month last year."
Indeed, in January, Norway exported 95,100 tonnes of salmon worth NOK 10.9 billion. Compared to the same month last year, this represents a growth of 10% in volume and 13% in value. Poland and France were the largest markets along with the U.S., which occupied the top 1.
January is usually a strong month for Norwegian salmon exports to the U.S. This year, the export volume closed at 7,313 tons, 40% more than in January 2024, so that the U.S. was not only the largest market for Norwegian seafood exports in general but also for salmon in particular.
However, as the Norwegian Seafood Council's envoy to the U.S., Anne-Kristine Øen, explained, this was not only due to increased volume, but within that increased supply there was also plenty of salmon of the right size for U.S. demand, and a strong dollar.
"The strong growth in exports of salmon and trout to the U.S. is partly due to the fact that there was a lot of fish of the right size and quality available for the U.S. market in January. The further weakening of the Norwegian krone against the U.S. dollar is also a factor," Anne-Kristine Øen explained.
Moreover, although it did not enter the top 3 largest individual markets, China was, after the United States, the second fastest-growing market in January, growing by NOK 284 million to a total of NOK 769 million.
"Favourable production conditions have increased the availability of salmon sizes that are in demand in China. In addition, the Chinese New Year came earlier than last year. This has given an extra boost to salmon exports in January," commented Seafood Analyst of the NSC, Paul T. Aandahl.
If we talk about cod, January is an important month for Norwegian cod. In 2025, the cod fishing quota has been reduced by 25% and Norway now has the lowest cod quota since 1991. That quota reduction and thus reduced landings contributed to a significant decrease in the export volume of fresh wild cod in January 2025.
Last month, 3,317 tons of fresh cod worth NOK 267 million were exported. The value increased by NOK 38 million, or 17%, compared to the same month in 2024. Volume, on the other hand, decreased by 5%.
"The quota reduction is necessary to ensure a sustainable cod stock, but of course it also affects exports. Lower available volumes have resulted in strong price growth for skrei and other cod products in January. At the same time, it illustrates the difficult situation for the Norwegian onshore industry, with increasingly tough competition for raw materials for processing into fillets, salted fish, clipfish and stockfish," said the CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council.
For fresh wild cod, January 2025 volumes fell by 19% to 1,980 tonnes, while export value rose by 3% to NOK 175 million, although, unlike at other times, this time the boost did not come from skrei. Norway exported 420 tons of quality-labeled skrei worth NOK 45 million, but, after a 30% drop in volume, the value also declined. Compared to the same month last year, it was down 9%, or NOK 5 million less. Denmark, Spain, and Sweden were its main markets.
"The sharp decline in export volumes in January is not surprising. A lot of bad weather combined with a sharp quota cut has contributed to a large decline in landings in January. This has also affected export volumes," said NSC Seafood Analyst Eivind Hestvik Brækkan.
However, at the same time, the export price for quality-labelled skrei has never been higher in a single month. "With an export price of NOK 107 per kg in January, this is NOK 24 per kg higher than the previous record month, which was January 2024," explained Brækkan.
In contrast, farmed cod reached its highest share ever. For fresh farmed cod, the export volume increased by 26% to 1,337 tonnes, while the export value increased by 56% to NOK 92 million.
"Farmed cod accounted for 35 per cent of the export value of fresh cod in January. This is the highest proportion of farmed cod ever in the month of January. This is not unnatural, given the quota situation for wild-caught cod," Seafood Analyst Eivind Hestvik Brækkan stated.
In terms of the main destination countries for fresh cod, they were Denmark, the Netherlands, and Latvia, the usual transit markets. From there, Norwegian fresh cod is re-exported as a final destination to the main fresh product markets in Europe, such as France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain.
Finally, the quota reduction also contributed to a sharp decrease in both landings and export volumes of frozen cod in January. Norway exported 3,607 tonnes worth NOK 294 million. The value fell by 20%, NOK 75 million, compared with the same month 2024, and volume fell by 52%.
As NSC Seafood analyst Eivind Hestvik Brækkan pointed out, it was high price growth that cushioned the fall in export value, and it was the UK that stood out in a positive sense. Even though China was the largest market for Norwegian frozen cod in January 2025, the UK experienced the strongest value growth, with an increase in export value of NOK 31 million - up 44%, compared to the same month last year - putting it in second position. Vietnam rounded out the top three destination markets.
