President Yoon Seok-yeol's wife Kim Kun-hee visits Jukdo Market in Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do and looks at crabs. (provided by the Office of the Preside

South Korea could become the new market for live Norwegian snow crab

South Korea could become the new market for live Norwegian snow crab, according to a recent report

South Koreans are increasingly eating live snow crab. Most of it comes from Russia, but in the long term Norway can take shares in the market, shows a new report from the Seafood Council.

Photo: Norwegian Seafood Council

At Korean crab restaurants, and there are quite a few of them, such as the chains Crab story, Vikings Wharf or Crab Country, live snow crab is increasingly common on the menu. In 2023, Koreans consumed around 11,000 tons, which is the highest consumption in a long time. Most of it is eaten in restaurants, most of it is imported, and most of it is fished in Russia.

Live Norwegian snow crab is almost absent in South Korea. But according to the recent survey that the Seafood Council has carried out in the Korean market, there is potential for the Norwegian crab to also take its share of the cake.

"The report points to several good opportunities for the Norwegian live snow crab", says Mia Sætre Bernhardsen, who is the Seafood Council's manager in South Korea.

At the same time, challenges with capacity, logistics, and not least Olympic fishing, must be resolved before live Norwegian snow crab can find a place on Korean plates.

The Korean crab market

China is the world's largest market for live snow crab. But as of today, the Norwegian crab lacks approval to enter the Chinese market. That is why South Korea is all the more important for Norwegian exporters.

The Seafood Council's report covers the entire crab market in South Korea, from different species and the competitive situation to prices, distribution and sales channels. In order to get a picture of the potential for the Norwegian crab species, one report has been made for snow crab and one for king crab.

Photo: Norwegian Seafood Council

You can read both reports entirety here:

• Snow Crab Report Korea
• King Crab Report Korea

South Korea has been one of the most important markets for Norwegian live king crab. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions, Norwegian exports have fallen. The Russians have had to find new markets, and now large quantities of crab are imported into Asian countries, including South Korea. This has pushed prices down and made the Norwegian king crab less competitive.

But it is never so wrong that it is not good for anything: The Norwegian king crab's good name and reputation provide a good basis for entry for the live snow crab, according to the report.

In 2023, total crab consumption in Korea was approximately 52,000 metric tons, of which approximately 73% was domestic crab. This was the highest level in recent years, mainly due to the high national crab catch. Of the total volume, imported snow crab accounted for approximately 19%. Source: Norwegian Seafood Council. Click image to enlarge it.

In addition, the survey points to the following advantages for Norwegian live snow crab:

• The Norwegian crab has no customs duty, while the Russian one has 20 percent
• Korean players are looking for new suppliers
• Korean importers and Norwegian exporters have already established business contacts
• Some consumers, especially the younger ones, like to pay more for crab of Norwegian origin
• In certain periods, the Norwegian live snow crab is cheaper than the Russian one

Photo: Norwegian Seafood Council

Think the market will take off

As of today, the vast majority of the snow crab that is caught is produced on board the boats, and exported as boiled, frozen claws. Only a small part of the catches are delivered alive for further export.

Cape Fish is one of the Norwegian exporters that supplies both king crab and snow crab, live as well as frozen, to the Asian market. Sales manager Erlend Johnsen believes the future of live snow crab in South Korea looks promising.

"I think the South Korean market can "explode" by next year, and am quite sure that it will be our main market for live snow crab".

Thanks to the export of live king crab, Cape Fish already has the logistics in place.

"A prerequisite is, nevertheless, that there will be an end to the Olympic crab fishing", says Johnsen.

Olympic fishing means that in the crab industry there is only one large quota, and everyone can fish as much as they want within this quota. There is therefore not a set quota per boat as in other fishing. This means that in the Barents Sea, where the snow crab is fished, the "first come" principle applies. Then it is about doing as much fishing as possible in the shortest possible time, which affects the sorting of the crab and shortens the season.

Obstacles

Precisely the Olympic fishing is something that stands in the way of the Norwegian live snow crab being able to take a good bite of the South Korean cake: The report points to unstable Norwegian deliveries and sometimes poorer quality of the Norwegian crabs.

Between 2017 and 2023, consumption increased on average by 5% each year. The consumption of 13,000 MT was the largest in recent years. Source: Norwegian Seafood Council. Click image to enlarge it.

From 2025, however, the government announces that the current arrangement will be discontinued, and that 10 percent of the total quota will be earmarked for live snow crab.

"The new arrangement can ensure more predictable deliveries throughout the year, and ensured enough time to sort the biggest and best crabs", says Mia Sætre Bernhardsen.

Nevertheless, there is still some uncertainty about who and how many will be allocated new quotas, and how large the quotas will be. Before it is decided, it will be difficult for some fishermen and exporters to adjust to live export.

And, there are a few more reefs in the sea. The biggest obstacle is strong competition, both from Russia and from the many other, and often cheaper, crab species offered to Korean consumers.

Source: Norwegian Seafood Council

Taken together, Bernhardsen summarizes the potential for live snow crab to South Korea as follows:

"There are certainly good opportunities, but I think it will take some time to build a strong position. The work we have done in marketing the king crab has built the position for Norwegian shellfish in general. But there are still many people in South Korea who do not know that Norway can deliver live snow crab. We need to make that better known.

During the autumn, the Seafood Council's new market plans for 2025 will be ready. The plans are made in collaboration with the advisory market group for shellfish. Then it will also become clear how much of the budget for South Korea will be earmarked for marketing and investing in live snow crab"

Here you can read more about the Korean market for Norwegian seafood.

Source: Norwegian Seafood Council (translated from original in Norwegian)

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