China market a rising tide for Norwegian seafood

China has become the fastest-growing market for Norwegian seafood, fueled by Chinese consumers' growing appetite for high-quality aquatic products, and demand is still growing, said the Norwegian Seafood Council.

The council said the Scandinavian nation exported 182,000 metric tons of seafood to China last year, growing 14 percent year-on-year. The export value reached 9.4 billion Norwegian krone ($926 million), up 10 percent on a yearly basis.

"China is growing more than any other major markets. This has been mainly driven by the increased export of salmon, which has become a huge product for us in China over recent years," Sigmund Bjorgo, China director of the Norwegian Seafood Council, said in Dalian, Liaoning province, where he is leading a team of Norwegian companies attending the 2025 Seafood Expo Asia-Pacific this week.

"Norway is a small country with an open economy. We are 100 percent dependent on trade with the entire world. Seafood is our second-biggest export item. Given current global trade regimes with tariff changes, it is important for Norway to have stable markets for Norwegian seafood. China has been very stable and a good market where we see room for continuous growth," he said.

Norway has exported seafood products to more than 140 countries, and China has climbed the ranks to become the sixth-largest market globally and the largest in Asia in terms of export value for Norwegian seafood, the council said.

China has become one of the largest salmon importers, with Norway, Canada and Chile as main suppliers, the General Administration of Customs said.

"The Asia-Pacific region is the largest market for aquatic produce production and consumption globally and a major seafood processing center. Global trade and supply chains of aquatic products are mainly concentrated here," said Cui He, chairman of the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance.

For over 30 years, Norway has exported seafood to China and has been a dominant player with salmon, mackerel and whitefish. Though China is the world's biggest market for coldwater prawns, exports of such a seafood by Norway to China has been maintaining at a limited level.

Previously, most coldwater prawns from Norway were sold to nearby markets like Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom.

Bjorgo said that this year, Norway is putting a lot of emphasis on building the market in China, and it is going extremely well so far. The fishing season for coldwater prawns started only two months ago, but by the end of April, the export volume was already five times higher than last year.

Norway exported 2,439 tons of coldwater prawns to China in 2024, and the value reached 113 million Norwegian krone, surging 319 percent and 158 percent year-on-year, respectively, the council said.

Bjorgo said China's prawn market is extremely big and the interest from Chinese buyers about Norwegian coldwater prawns has been amazing. In the last couple of months, the council has received inquiries from many Chinese buyers.

Most consumption of coldwater prawns in China has been concentrated in Northeast China, Shandong province and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The council said it strongly believes that coldwater prawns also have huge growth potential in other parts of China.

China's booming growth of the e-commerce sector, livestreaming sessions and social media platforms has helped push the sales of coldwater prawns.

"It always takes time to build a market and we need to get consumers to taste it first, understand how to use it, and on which occasion to eat it. We are joining four exhibitions in China this year and bringing Norwegian companies out. I am very confident that this market will grow quite a lot in the future," Bjorgo said.

Contact the writers at zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn