It is therefore important to develop knowledge which puts Norwegian companies in a position to develop production forms, build brands, develop good marketing strategies and acquire competitive advantages within this market segment. Organic salmon and cod are niche products with an international certification system and great market opportunities.
A few figures about supply and demand:
- Around 100 countries offer consumers certified organic products.
- France, Germany, Switzerland and English-speaking countries are the largest and fastest growing markets for organic salmon.
- Norway, Ireland and Scotland produced organic salmon for the European market in 2008.
- In 2007, the global production from organic aquaculture totalled 60,000 tonnes*.
- From 2008, the anticipated growth in the global production of organic seafood is 15-25 %*.
- Organic seafood products account for less than 0.1 % of the world's total seafood production*.
* Source: Organic Monitor 2008
The production of organic fish in Norway is so far modest (two fish farms for salmon and one for cod in 2008). BioMar and Ewos produce Debio-certified feed which can be used to farm organic cod and salmon.
Yes please to red fillet
Research carried out by Nofima Marin concludes that consumers prefer organic salmon to conventional salmon and on average are prepared to pay 15 % more per kilo for salmon fillet if the quality is otherwise the same. But organic salmon is often paler as the regulations permit only natural colour additives in the fish feed. The research also shows that for consumers who are used to buying red salmon, the willingness to pay extra disappears if the organic salmon is too pale. Consequently, in order to achieve an acceptable price premium and profitability, it is necessary for Norwegian regulations (Debio) to now approve alternative and effective colour additives, such as yeast. This will make it possible to produce salmon fillets which are just as red as conventional salmon without the extra costs being too high.
Increasing the market as a whole
The challenge for Norway now is to create a competitive and sustainable Norwegian organic cod and salmon production for the export market. As the world's largest salmon exporter, Norway must participate in this development.
Some people have expressed concern that the conventional product will be regarded negatively when an equivalent product is marketed as organic. However, experience from the dairy industry has shown that such concerns are baseless, as adding organic products to a conventional product range are positive for the product range as a whole.
Consumers have a positive perception of organics and brands which market organic products are therefore associated with something positive. With respect to fish, it is reasonable to expect that there will be a demand for organic salmon from a new consumer segment which does not normally buy farmed salmon. This can contribute to increasing the total market for salmon. Large-scale production and sale of organic salmon is also important to achieve an efficient distribution and reduced prices for consumers.
Conventional production can become more environmentally friendly
Results, experience and partial solutions from organic production have often proven to be important for making traditional production more environmentally or animal friendly. With increased focus on organic aquaculture, conventional producers will to a greater or lesser extent be able to utilise or adapt such partial solutions in their operations.
Need for R & D on fish
The lack of research and experience about production forms means that we must to a large extent base production forms on research carried out on organic agriculture. Owing to a shortage of knowledge about and experience in organic aquaculture, there is a major need to develop and document production methods and to study product quality, productivity and the effectiveness of different production forms in accordance with the regulations.
More knowledge and development about productions and markets is also necessary to acquire the necessary competitive advantage for organic aquaculture and to find good strategies to market organic salmon.
Regulations
A harmonising process of the European regulations for organic aquaculture is under way. The challenge in this harmonisation of international regulations is there are many questions and ethical dilemmas. There is major debate in organic circles about whether aquaculture as a whole can be certified organic and, if it can be, what organic aquaculture should involve. Scientific documentation is needed in order to develop good regulations which are necessary to build consumer confidence and for the industry to develop organic aquaculture in the future.
Norway and Sweden lead by example when it comes to regulations for organic food. It is therefore important that Norway, as the world's largest aquaculture nation, leads from the front and increases the level of knowledge about organic aquaculture so that the regulations are the best possible and are adapted for Norwegian production conditions.
