The military and political crisis in Ukraine has caused Norwegian seafood exports to the country to drop by nearly 40% so far this year, according to figures from the Norwegian Seafood Council.
The country’s February Maidan revolution has plunged it in an economic crisis that has caused buyers’ purchasing power to drop, and liquidity sharply reduce as the currency, the hryvnia, suffered a steep fall.
Now the latest figures from the Norwegian Seafood Council show that exports from Norway to Ukraine, a significant market especially for pelagics, fell to just 27,000 metric tons in the first half of the year — a 38% or 16,600t drop from nearly 44,000t at the same time last year.
In value, exports were down by 32% or NOK 209 million to NOK 447m.
Exports included frozen mackerel, which plummeted from 5,600t to 1,800t.