Norway’s seafood export earnings held broadly steady in September despite a record month for salmon volumes, highlighting the growing importance of farmed fish to the country’s seafood trade amid currency headwinds and uneven demand across product categories.
According to the Norwegian Seafood Council, Norway exported seafood worth NOK 17.8 billion (€1.65 billion) during the month, down just NOK 27 million from September 2025. The marginal decline came as movements in export prices, shipment volumes and exchange rates shaped the overall value of trade.
Salmon led the performance, with Norway recording its highest-ever monthly export volume for the species. However, the stronger Norwegian krone reduced export values when measured in the domestic currency, limiting the impact of higher salmon prices and shipments on the overall trade figure.
For January-September 2026, Norway’s seafood exports totalled NOK 133.2 billion (€12.38 billion), representing a 2 per cent increase over the corresponding period last year.
“Norway has never exported a higher volume of salmon in a single month than it did in September,” said Christian Chramer, chief executive of the Norwegian Seafood Council. He noted that salmon prices had risen in both euros and US dollars, while currency movements and lower exports of trout and several wild-caught species weighed on the overall value.
Farmed fish accounted for NOK 13.7 billion (€1.27 billion), or 77 per cent of Norway’s total seafood export value in September. Strong international demand for Norwegian salmon, supported by reduced production in other major salmon-producing countries, helped sustain shipments even as the broader market faced currency-related pressures.
The performance of wild-caught seafood was more mixed. Export prices increased for cod, mackerel, saithe, prawns and herring, but lower shipment volumes for mackerel, prawns, saithe and herring constrained export performance. The figures underline the divergence between price realisation and physical volumes across Norway’s seafood categories.
The US market remained a particular concern. Norway’s seafood exports to the country fell 4 per cent year on year to NOK 1.2 billion (€110 million) in September. Fresh salmon fillet export volumes declined for the eleventh consecutive month, while shipments of trout, mackerel and king crab also weakened in both volume and value terms.
Chramer attributed some of the pressure to differences in tariff treatment between Norway and competing seafood-exporting countries, warning that Norwegian seafood businesses were operating in a challenging competitive environment.
September’s figures illustrate the resilience of Norway’s salmon-led export sector, but also the limits of record shipment volumes in protecting overall earnings from exchange-rate movements and market-specific trade barriers. With farmed fish accounting for more than three-quarters of monthly export value, developments in salmon supply, pricing and market access will remain central to the country’s seafood trade performance.
