ELEVATING ICELANDIC SEAFOOD EXPORTS

Elevating Icelandic seafood exports through strategic branding and global market expansion. The first of a series of features by Fish Focus, starting with our spotlight on Iceland. We will be posting an article every day, covering this amazing trip and showcasing the Icelandic Seafood industry, Icelandic heritage and the hospitality of the Icelandic people. You can read the whole publication here

Seafood from Iceland is a project managed through Business Iceland and is the owner and founder of Fisheries Iceland. The participants in Seafood from Iceland are fish producers, fish sales exporting companies, and companies in the service sector, emphasising the markets in Southern Europe, the UK, and the ‘pesca tourism’ market.

The main objective of the Seafood from Iceland project is to increase the export and overall value of seafood exports by raising awareness and improving consumers’ understanding of Icelandic seafood.

Björgvin þór Björgvinsson, Head of Seafood at Business Iceland and Head of Fisheries at Seafood from Iceland delivered an excellent and highly informative presentation at the offices of Business Iceland to further explain the role of the organisations within the Icelandic seafood sector.

Iceland is a large island nation with an area of approximately 103,000 km2 (40,000 miles2), larger than the UK nations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland combined and approximately 79% of the landmass of England.

The population of Iceland has grown significantly since the millennium, from 279,049 in 2000 to an estimated 387,758 in 2023, according to statistics compiled by Statista.com.

Iceland: population 2023 | Statista

Björgvin þór Björgvinsson told Fish Focus:

“Business Iceland is responsible for the branding and marketing of Iceland and Icelandic export industries, supports Icelandic companies in entering foreign markets, and facilitates foreign investment in the Icelandic economy.”

“Fisheries is a vital sector in Iceland, the 17^th largest fishing nation in the world, although it ranks 180^th by population. The industry contributes 8.1% to GDP and 25% if accounting for the indirect effects of the ocean cluster. Fisheries directly employs 8 100 people or 3.6% of the total workforce.” added Björgvin

Business Iceland has been responsible for several seafood marketing projects:

• The Iceland Responsible Fisheries programme, which includes the logo of origin and certification of seafood products, was launched in 2010.
• The Bacalao de Islandia programme for marketing salted cod in southern Europe launched in 2013 (Spain, Portugal, and Italy)
• The Seafood from Iceland programme, where Icelandic fisheries companies work together under one brand of origin to maximise the marketing and value of Icelandic seafood products.

Certification

With some of the world’s richest and most sustainable fishing grounds, the Iceland Responsible Fisheries Programme has certified sustainable Icelandic fisheries in cod (2010), saithe (2013), haddock (2013), golden redfish (2014), ling (2019), tusk (2019), and Icelandic herring (2019).

Export Value of Seafood from Iceland

The export value and critical markets for Icelandic seafood have evolved over the years with the introduction of farmed Atlantic salmon. It is now the second largest export behind Icelandic Atlantic cod and accounts for 40% of Iceland’s wild-caught fisheries exports.

Other key wild-caught fisheries include capelin (14%), haddock (7%), herring (6%), saithe (6%), redfish (4%), mackerel (3%), shrimp (3%), and Greenland halibut (2%) and other species (15%)

Key Export Markets

Based on statistics from 2022, the key export markets and trading partners for the Icelandic fisheries export sector are the UK (15%), Norway (11%), France (11%), USA (10%), Spain (7%), Holland (6%), Germany (6%), China (5%), Portugal (53%), and the rest of the world (26%).

The export value of fish from 2022