With high-quality Atlantic salmon consumption in China exhibiting strong growth momentum, the Norwegian seafood council is fully confident about the Chinese market and is further stepping up its investment with the launch of a new nationwide campaign collaborating with globally renowned football superstar Erling Haaland, the council announced on Wednesday in Shanghai.

Sigmund Bjorgo, China Director of the Norwegian Seafood Council, noted that the Chinese salmon market has experienced unprecedented growth over the past few years and has been the driving force of the global salmon consumption. Data shows that in the first four months of this year, China's import volume of whole Atlantic salmon reached 68,764 tons, up 54 percent year-on-year. Notably, fresh whole salmon, which is primarily used for raw consumption, accounted for 86.5 percent of total imports, with import volume expanding 47 percent year-on-year.

As China's largest source of Atlantic salmon imports, Norway exported 52,446 tons of salmon to China from January to May, growing 55 percent year-on-year. China has become the second-largest market for Norwegian salmon, which continues to dominate the Chinese market with a cumulative share of 66 percent in the first four months of this year, according to the council.

The development of factories certified for ready-to-eat sashimi together with instant delivery has enabled this growth, together with increased distribution in modern retail, community sashimi stores, and online channels which has made salmon available to more people across China, boosting home consumption, said Bjorgo.