Norwegian seafood exports fuel job growth in the EU, study finds

A new report from Norwegian research institute SINTEF reveals that Norwegian seafood exports create significantly more jobs in the European Union (EU) than in Norway.

In 2023, Norwegian seafood exports reached a record value of NOK 172 billion, with much of the unprocessed fish being sent to the EU for further processing. The analysis, which follows previous reports in 2014 and 2021, reveals that 21% of the raw fish used in EU processing comes from Norwegian sources.

The data highlights a "tariff paradox", the study's funder FHF, the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund, has pointed out in a news release highlighting the research.

Norway exports mainly unprocessed fish to the EU due to high tariffs on processed seafood products. As a result, most of the value-added processing is carried out within the EU, leading to more job creation abroad - but limiting value creation and employment growth in Norway, the report suggests.

This trend is driving job growth particularly in Poland, Denmark, and the Netherlands, where processing facilities rely heavily on Norwegian seafood. According to SINTEF's most recent analysis, over 33,000 full-time jobs in the EU are now directly or indirectly linked to Norwegian seafood, up from 30,000 in 2021.

The report's authors note that this rise in employment is driven primarily by the increasing export of unprocessed Atlantic salmon, as well as the EU’s declining domestic seafood production, which has heightened the bloc’s dependence on Norwegian imports.

SINTEF’s previous studies from 2014 and 2021 also identified this growing trend, with the 2014 report showing that about 20% of the EU’s seafood processing workforce was connected to Norwegian fish.

Countries like Poland and the Netherlands have long been key hubs for processing Norwegian seafood, however, the report suggests that the growing reliance on Norwegian seafood, particularly after Russia’s 2014 ban on Norwegian imports, has further solidified the EU’s dependence on this critical export, making it an essential part of the European seafood industry’s workforce and production chain.

Original report: Employment in the EU Fish processing industry based on Norwegian Seafood Exports 2024