Scottish salmon farmers set to clean up after China's Nobel dispute with Norway

China's dispute with Norway over the awarding of the Nobel prize to dissident Liu Xiaobo has produced an unlikely winner - the Scottish salmon.

Scottish salmon farmers set to clean up after China's Nobel dispute with Norway
Exports of Norwegian fjord-farmed salmon to China have plummeted by 70pc in the first four months of this year, opening the door for the Scottish producers. Credit: Photo: PA

Norway’s fall from grace has provided a chance for Scottish salmon farmers to break into a market that had been dominated for years by the Scandinanvian country, which provides 90pc of the salmon eaten in China, according to the state-backed Global Times newspaper.

Exports of Norwegian fjord-farmed salmon to China have plummeted by 70pc in the first four months of this year, while Scottish producers signed a landmark agreement in January to begin direct exports to China.

Norway has been in the diplomatic equivalent of the deep freeze since last October when the Norway-based Nobel Committee announced it was awarding the peace prize to Mr Liu, a pro-democracy campaigner currently serving an 11-year jail sentence.

All political meetings between the two countries have been cancelled in a sign of Beijing’s displeasure, while shipments of Norwegian salmon that once sailed through customs now lie stranded on the dockside, awaiting ‘clearances’ by health inspectors, according to reports.

“We cannot get fish in there at all,” admitted Henning Beltestad, the CEO of Norway's Leroey Seafood Group, one of many Norwegian companies absorbing the impact of a breakdown of relations between Oslo and Beijing.

Salmon farming supports 6,000 jobs in Scotland, with exports worth nearly £300m, a figure that the industry hopes to grow through exports to China and the Middle East, expanding from traditional export markets of Europe and the US.

At the signing of January’s deal, China’s vice-premier Li Keqiang, observed that “even if 1pc of the people of China decide to eat Scottish salmon” then Scotland would have to double production to meet demand.

While Norwegian producers said they were now searching for alternatives markets for their fish, Jamie Smith, a spokesman for the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organization, said Scottish exporters had not experienced any problems with inspections.

"Not to my knowledge," he said, adding that he suspected a link between China's sudden appetite for Scottish salmon and its Nobel spat with Norway. “I think that may be one of the reasons,” he added.

The group added that although export figures would not be available until June, the first shipments of Scottish salmon had already arrived in China following January’s agreement and had cleared customs without any problems.