Norwegian salmon exporters are facing an increasingly chaotic marketplace as news of border closures and travel bans roll out across the world, with fresh fish in particular facing an uncertain future.

"The only thing that is certain is that there is a lot of uncertainty," Ingrid Kassen, general manager of medium-sized Norwegian salmon exporter Norwell, told IntraFish.

That's made determining price trends near impossible, Kassen said.

One bright spot is that transportation of fish from Norway to Europe is moving relatively smoothly, at least for now.

"We don't know what will happen in the future because there may be a sudden stop," Kassen said.

Poland, France and the United States were the largest importers of salmon from Norway in February, according to Norwegian Seafood Council figures, but it's likely coronavirus will change the geographic spread of product as time goes on -- particularly for markets served by air.

One medium-sized salmon exporter told IntraFish air freight is becoming more difficult.

"It's almost impossible [going] west, and a huge reduction in the number of departures [going] east," the exporter said.

What is particularly frustrating for the executive is that markets in Asia are now picking up, while transporting product there remains challenging.

The exporter is working on finding solutions for the United States but a lot of uncertainty remains, which holds up the entire process.

"We have to ensure that we have air cargo before we buy fish," the exporter said.

Airline logistics group Avinor told IntraFish most of the seafood exported to the United States goes through the United Kingdom. It estimates that in 2019 only 8,000 metric tons out of a total of 51,000 metric tons were exported to the United States via Oslo Airport.

As of now, the flow of food products is technically unaffected by restrictions -- but space is the massive hurdle.

"US authorities emphasize that there are no import restrictions on goods related to the corona eruption," Leroy Seafood's Krister Hoaas told IntraFish.

"We closely monitor the situation, and have close dialogue with carriers and customers, and will adapt according to capacity and opportunities."

Trade

Norway's farmed salmon exporters face dilemma with air cargo in disarray