Salmon and Soy - a commodity blog

  How does the future of the Norwegian salmon industry look like?           In September 2020, the Norwegian administration proposed a new tax idea for salmon and trout producers, and it would come into introduction from 1 st January 2023. A new proposal is expected in March 2023, with a view that the bill is likely to be fully operational by late Q2-2023. The tax incentive was to ensure that some of the value-added profits generated by the industry will contribute to greater social benefits, especially to the coastal communities that accommodate salmon aquaculture. However, fears for industry growth and investment opportunities remain questionable as the salmon tax could harm the industry in terms of production, investment, and prices. Lower capital investment & value-added production           The Norwegian Seafood Federation estimates that approximately 35 billion NOK worth of capital investment were cancelled duri...

The outlook for soybeans for 2023 is one of growth, with an expected increase in acreage used, according to estimates by the World Bank. Combined acreage of corn, wheat and soy is projected at nearly 3 percent higher than 2022. Prices are expected to fall relative to 2022 but remain high compared to the historical average. There are however uncertainties in the market which could drive up prices. Continued forecast of la Niña weather conditions could cause drought and bad harvests in the USA. The US produces 34 percent of the global output of soybean. There have also been historically low export levels of soybeans from the US due to prices there being above the world market. This is because demand is driven up by the biofuel industry, which uses soy oil. Competition in the biofuel industry is expected to increase and be a key driver of soybean prices in the US. Meanwhile, China, the biggest consumer of soy, has low reserves and need restocking, according to S&P Global. Demand from...

While the debate between land-based, offshore, and wild salmon farming is raging, a new approach is currently trending within the aquaculture industry: plant-based salmon substitutes. Offshore farming carries high transportation costs and might still have sea lice problems, land-based production has high energy costs, and wild salmon has a very limited supply. And now, new Swedish research shows that the environmental impact of salmon production in Norway has been underestimated. The Swedish researchers found issues such as heavy metals and toxins from fishmeal, the use of pesticides to combat diseases, as well as farming conditions that can cause eutrophication (excessive richness of nutrients in the seabed, causing harmful algal blooms, dead zones, and fish death). Fishmeal now contains a much higher percentage of vegetable ingredients than it used to, which affects the level of Omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, and vitamin D, making farmed salmon less nutritious. Although the transiti...