Norwegian Salmon Production Decline Spurs Jump In Fish Prices

Salmon prices are heading for a record this year as colder sea temperatures in Norway, the world’s biggest producer, spur the first decline in output in 12 years, according to Rabobank International.

Norway’s Atlantic salmon production will probably drop by about 4 percent from 2012 to 1.15 million metric tons, after output more than doubled in the past seven years, said Gorjan Nikolik, a senior industry analyst at Rabobank in Utrecht, Netherlands. Export prices were 37.70 kroner a kilogram ($3.23 a pound) as of March 17, near a 22-month high and 30 percent more expensive than at the same time last year, Statistics Norway data show. Prices may climb to 45 kroner by the end of June, topping a record 43.61 kroner in April 2011, Nikolik said.

Warm sea temperatures in winter 2011 sped up fish growth rates and spurred a 19 percent jump in Norway’s Atlantic salmon output in 2012, Nikolik said. That sent prices to an 11-month low at the end of September and encouraged grocers to discount salmon, ultimately boosting consumer demand, he said. Prices have surged 57 percent since then, helping the country’s exports achieve a record value in February of 2.5 billion kroner, according to data from the Norwegian Seafood Council.

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