The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Manila joined the World Food Exposition (WOFEX) from August 2 to 5 and presented the Norwegian Seafood Pavilion, which featured fresh catch from the cold waters of the Scandinavian country.
Norway is the second-largest seafood exporter in the world, known for prime quality seafood from the Atlantic Ocean. It implements strict rules and regulations in handling seafood, while ensuring that the produce is from a clean, healthy environment, and in compliance to the sustainable standards of fish farming.
The Philippines, though, lags seafood trade, compared with its peers in the region such as Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Taiwan, according to the embassy. However, Ambassador Christian Halaas Lyster shared the potential for growth for this segment: “We see further increase of…salmon exports in the Philippine market; we want to take the opportunity of the growing consumer demand for fresh-market ingredients here.”
The Asian market is showing a rebound in salmon exports to the Philippines after its government lifted restrictions after the pandemic. The country has also posted a 39-percent increase year-on-year in salmon exports versus 2022.
With that, the said market is seeing a gradual hike in demand for fresh salmonids compared with processed seafood, based on a “Seafood from Norway” May 2023 report.
Norway is also looking at further utilizing the existing free-trade agreement or FTA with the Philippines, which entered into force in 2018, and includes tariff-free entry of goods from member-states including Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Iceland.
At the WOFEX, the embassy also hosted a business-matching session. It saw some 50 industry players expand networks and business opportunities for seafood.
The embassy likewise shared that some 37 million meals are produced daily from Norway’s fisheries industry.