The Norwegian Embassy in Manila together with the Norwegian Seafood Council, joined by the Department of Trade (DTI) and Industry, Bureau of Customs (BoC), and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) hosted the first-ever Seafood Roundtable at the Seda Hotel in Vertis North Quezon City.

The seafood roundtable was attended by more than 70 different seafood importers and exporters in the Philippines together with national agencies from the Philippine government to set the tone for facilitating seafood trade in the country. The roundtable also aims to accelerate the utilization of the current Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and Norway under EFTA-FTA.

Norwegian Seafood Council Director for Southeast Asia Åshild Nakken mentioned that there is so much potential for seafood trade in the Philippine market that she calls it a “hidden gem” for seafood trade among its ASEAN peers. Norwegian seafood exports to Southeast Asia in 2024 with a total value of 172,000 tons with a total value of US$834 million in 2024. This is a significant increase of 112.5% increase in value from 2020 – 20245 with a yearly average growth of 21% in the ASEAN region. She likewise highlighted that Norway is one of the world’s largest seafood exporters around the world, where salmon is slowly and sustainably grown under world-class standards.

Ambassador Christian Lyster shared that Philippine exports to EFTA reached €350 million in 2022 alone, while imports peaked at €433 million. Yet, the FTA has to fully realize its full potential to maximize the benefit of this agreement. The Ambassador likewise highlighted that a significant portion of trade to the Philippines comprises seafood exports like salmon.

“Norwegian salmon has now even found its way into traditional Filipino dishes like singing,” he added.

The Seafood roundtable concluded with a ceremony called the Yusheng, or Prosperity toss, which is often done to welcome the lunar year and bring good luck and prosperity for the year to come.

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