The re-opening of trade between China and Norway is a major event in the importing seafood industry. As the parties prepare to cooperate with Norway in various forms, some people are beginning to look to the future.

Recently, the representative of Norwegian investment bank Norn Securities made a prediction on the future of Sino-Norwegian trade. He said that it is a matter of time for Chinese importers to acquire Norwegian seafood manufacturers in order to ensure the stability of supply. What do you think of it?

At the recent Norwegian Seafood Summit 2017, hundreds of Norwegian seafood exporters had in-depth discussions with nearly 300 Chinese importers. At the meeting, the Norwegian Seafood Bureau announced the “Norwegian 2025” seafood promotion project, which aims to export 156,000 tons of cultured Atlantic salmon to China in 2025, which is equivalent to one-seventh of the current Norwegian aquaculture.

“Chinese seafood importers will gradually start from the supply suppliers in order to enhance their competitiveness,” said Nunn Securities analysts Karl Johan Molnes and Rytis Mikelionis. Indeed, whoever gets the primary source of supply and stabilizes the supply of goods will be able to stand out in the fierce domestic market competition.

Formally speaking, compatible mergers or joint ventures have strong practical significance. As can be seen from the experience of Japan, both methods can effectively guarantee the supply of goods to a certain extent.

In 2014, Japan's Mitsubishi Group successfully acquired Cermaq, a global salmon farming giant, for nearly $1.4 billion. The updated case is the agreement between Yokohama Freezing Co., Ltd. and Norwegian Hofseth International to acquire the squid farming company Fjordlaks Aqua.

The CEO of Norwegian salmon supplier Bakkafrost said that only Norway has enough strength to plow in the Chinese market. It seems that the all-round and multi-level cooperation between China and Norway will be put on the agenda in the near future.