Norway's seafood exports down by 2 pct in Q1

OSLO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Norway exported seafood worth 23.7 billion Norwegian kroner (3.03 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2018, down 2 percent compared with the same month last year, the Norwegian Seafood Council said on Thursday.

In terms of volume, Norway exported 676,000 tonnes of seafood in the first quarter of this year, down 8 percent compared with the same quarter last year, the council said in a report.

Norway exported 246,000 tonnes of salmon worth 15.8 billion kroner in the first quarter, an increase of 6 percent in volume. Meanwhile, the export value fell by 240 million kroner or 1.5 percent compared with the first quarter last year.

Salmon is the most important species for Norwegian seafood exports. Poland, France and the United States were the largest markets for Norwegian salmon in the first quarter.

It was the best quarter for cod ever, with a total export value of over 3 billion kroner, said Ingrid Kristine Pettersen, a seafood analyst with the Norwegian Seafood Council.

"This is due to strong demand in our most important consumer markets, such as Portugal and Spain," she said.

Norway exported 2.6 million tonnes of seafood worth 94.5 billion Norwegian kroner in 2017, a record high both in value and volume, according to data published by the Norwegian Seafood Council in January. (1 U.S. dollar = 7.8201 Norwegian kroner) Enditem