Officials reject Mowi's request to export lower-quality 'production' fish

Mowi is appealing the decision.

"Personally, I hope this [the ban] is something we can get rid of at some point," Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim said.Photo: Robert Nedrejord

Norwegian officials have rejected a request from Norway-based salmon giant Mowi to allow the exportation of lower-grade fish.

Last month, Mowi asked the Norwegian Food Safety Authority for an exemption to a law making it illegal for Norwegian companies to export lower-quality "production" salmon without first processing the fish in the country.

In Norway, farmed salmon is graded as superior, ordinary or production fish. Salmon with any deformities are classified as production fish. Wounds and unsightly blemishes on the fish are removed for export.

Mowi has repeatedly requested that the ban on the export of production fish be removed, arguing there is not enough processing capacity within Norway to properly process the fish. The presence of fish in the market is also distorting wholesale salmon prices.

"It is obvious that there is no capacity to correct production fish in Norway now," Mowi's communications director Ola Helge Hjetland told IntraFish. "The best solution ... is to open up the possibility of temporarily doing this work in our own factories abroad to prevent smuggling and destruction."

The proportion of production fish reached 37 percent -- a record level -- in mid-February, according the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Typically, less than 10 percent of the salmon is production fish, but in the winter the proportion may be higher due to winter sores, among other things.

Mowi is appealing the decision, and the issue will be prioritized, Norwegian Food Safety Authority Director Eilsabeth Wilmann told IntraFish.