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Sushi is the new taco

Norwegians spent NOK 720 million on sushi in 2013.

Sushi now makes 10 percent of Norway’s seafood purchases.

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Norwegians spent NOK 720 million (€88.5 million) on sushi last year, nearly ten percent of the total domestic purchase of fish, which totaled NOK 7.5 billion last year, Kyst og Fjord reports, citing NTB.

Two thirds of the sushi is bought in restaurants and sushi bars, and the remaining third in retail. This market has nearly doubled in only three years.

“On top of the professional sales, sushi is moving in to people’s homes, as a real alternative to pizza and taco”, Lisbeth Bjørvig Hansen of the Norwegian Seafood Council says. “The barrier to making your own sushi has come down,” she adds.

Salmon is one of the most popular fish to use in sushi. In the first quarter of 2014 Norway exported NOK 10.7 billion (€1.3 billion) worth of salmon. This represents an increase of 33 per cent or compared to the first quarter of 2013. The average price for whole, fresh Norwegian salmon in March was NOK 43.88 (€5.4) per kilo compared to NOK 37.59 (€4.6) in March last year. Poland and France were the biggest buyers of salmon from Norway, the Norwegian Seafood Council’s web site reads.