As European Union fishing vessels remain shut out of Norway’s fishing zones, including of the Barents Sea’s cod grounds, figures show that Norwegian cod exports to the EU so far this year are up by 80% compared to last year.
Fresh cod exports have soared the most, nearly doubling from the same time last year.
According to the Norwegian Seafood Council, Norway has sold 20,496 metric tons of fresh cod to the EU in the first nine weeks (Jan. 1 – March 2) of the year.
That’s up by 88%, or 9,953t, from 10,903t in the same period last year.
Despite this, the average export price has increased — from NOK 17.73 per kilo in the first nine weeks of last year, to NOK 18.55/kg this year.
Frozen exports have also surged, totaling 10,614t in the first nine weeks of the year — compared to 6,301t in the same period last year. That’s a 68%, or 6,301t increase.
Here again, the average export price was somewhat up, to NOK 15.44/kg compared to NOK 14.66/kg.
In total, therefore, fresh and frozen exports to the EU totaled 31,110t, an 80%, or 13,906t, increase from last year’s 17,204t.
The figures have been seized upon by the Danish fishing industry as itcalled for an EU ban on Norwegian fish imports as long as the EU fleets remain shut out of Norwegian waters.
“The EU has hundreds of millions of consumers, and not so much access to fish,” Nils Wichmann, CEO of the Danish fishermen’s association, told Undercurrent News on Monday.
“If Norway wants to stop us from fishing in their waters, as they have done since Jan. 1, then it’s obvious that the EU needs to play its card, that is the market card.”
After breaking off last Friday without agreement, the EU Norway bilateral talks resumed in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Monday morning.
According to sources, the talks broke after Norway insisted on including a one-year deal on mackerel in an agreement, as has been done in past years due to a lack of coastal state agreement on mackerel.
“Norway has had an orderly conduct in the negotiations, and representatives of both the groundfish and pelagic food industry in the EU have indicated to me that they fully understand Norway’s handling of the negotiations,” said Audun Marak, director of Norway’s fishing vessel owners’ association Fiskebat.