Norwegian salmon exports set a new August record

Norwegian salmon exports reached 153,602 tonnes in August, worth 12.3 billion kroner, as the country's seafood sector posted its strongest August on record despite a stronger currency.

The Norwegian Seafood Council published the monthly figures on 3 September. Total seafood exports for August stood at 16 billion kroner, up 1.9 billion kroner, or 14 percent, from the same month in 2025. Over the first eight months of the year, exports reached 115.7 billion kroner, a 2 percent rise on 2025.

Norwegian salmon exports jump in August

A stronger krone did not stop salmon from carrying Norway's seafood trade to a new high.

Salmon remains the backbone of the trade. Volume rose 7 percent year on year to 153,602 tonnes, while export value climbed 19 percent to 12.3 billion kroner, the Council's data show. Farmed fish accounted for the bulk of the month's total export growth.

Council chief executive Christian Chramer linked the rise to a strong summer harvest and firm demand from the sushi trade. Favourable biological conditions gave exporters access to large volumes of high-quality fish just as buyers in Asia and Europe were restocking, he said.

Poland took the biggest jump among destination markets for Norwegian salmon exports, up 36 percent to 2.23 billion kroner, ahead of China (up 34 percent, 1.4 billion kroner) and the Netherlands (up 31 percent, 1.16 billion kroner). Exports to the United States rose 4 percent to 1.13 billion kroner, a second straight monthly gain despite a 12.5 percent US tariff.

A strong krone cuts into margins

The krone traded well above its August 2025 level for most of the month, which normally erodes exporters' returns in local currency. Chramer said the record value came "despite the Norwegian krone being significantly stronger than in the same month last year," a sign of how tight global salmon supply is propping up prices.

Not every species shared in the gains. Mackerel export value fell 49 percent and volume dropped 60 percent as the fishing season wound down, while herring value fell 23 percent on a 38 percent drop in volume. Fresh cod bucked the trend, with export value up 24 percent, a mixed picture that echoes this month's North Sea catch report, where sole gained ground and plaice came under question.

The export figures also land weeks after Sustainable Seafood September put the focus on MSC-certified British stocks rather than raw export volume, a reminder that value and sustainability are tracked separately in seafood trade data.

The Norwegian Seafood Council releases its next monthly report in early October, when autumn harvest volumes will show whether Norwegian salmon exports can keep their pace into the final quarter.