newstodate.aero
Apr 19, 2010 (newstodate): As other industries, Norway's huge export by air of fresh salmon to markets in the Far East and the USA is afffected by the current flight bans due to Icelandic volcano ash.
-Out of our production of salmon for the export markets, 75 percent of the volumes are targeting European markets, and these volumes are transported on trucks or by rail. The problem, then, is with the 13 percent transported by air to the Far East and Japan, says Christian Chramer, Seafood Norway director communication.
-We are constantly monitoring the situation, and so far the seafood producers consider the situation as "business as normal", meaning that they are still able to adapt to the situation by, on one hand, stepping up deliveries to the European markets where the rise by 6 Norwegian Kroner per kilo in this year's Q1, compared to Q1 in 2009 proves that there is a strong demand to be met. On the other hand, the seafood farmers are still able to postpone the slaughtering of salmon, and this will allow the industry to have the product ready for delivery, once the current bans and limitations on flight operations are lifted.
-A third strategy is to increase the proportion of frozen, rather than fresh salmon in coming exports to the USA, and the fourth strategy is to go for an over-all increase in sales in our markets where the demand for seafood products is high.
-So basically, even if the current situation is indeed stressful and requires much effort to be invested in market analysis and continuous update of the situation, we do have any crisis in the industry, says Mr Chramer.
Norway exports some 6-700,000 tonnes of salmon and marine products each year by air to the global market, primarily the Far East, and in 2009 volumes by air destined for the burgeoning US market alone increased to 3-4,000 tonnes per month.
-Out of our production of salmon for the export markets, 75 percent of the volumes are targeting European markets, and these volumes are transported on trucks or by rail. The problem, then, is with the 13 percent transported by air to the Far East and Japan, says Christian Chramer, Seafood Norway director communication.
-We are constantly monitoring the situation, and so far the seafood producers consider the situation as "business as normal", meaning that they are still able to adapt to the situation by, on one hand, stepping up deliveries to the European markets where the rise by 6 Norwegian Kroner per kilo in this year's Q1, compared to Q1 in 2009 proves that there is a strong demand to be met. On the other hand, the seafood farmers are still able to postpone the slaughtering of salmon, and this will allow the industry to have the product ready for delivery, once the current bans and limitations on flight operations are lifted.
-A third strategy is to increase the proportion of frozen, rather than fresh salmon in coming exports to the USA, and the fourth strategy is to go for an over-all increase in sales in our markets where the demand for seafood products is high.
-So basically, even if the current situation is indeed stressful and requires much effort to be invested in market analysis and continuous update of the situation, we do have any crisis in the industry, says Mr Chramer.
Norway exports some 6-700,000 tonnes of salmon and marine products each year by air to the global market, primarily the Far East, and in 2009 volumes by air destined for the burgeoning US market alone increased to 3-4,000 tonnes per month.