China’s rise in e-commerce in Europe creates shipping opportunities for Norwegian salmon

A Chinese airline has launched a new cargo service enabling the air transport of farmed salmon from Norway.

The Nanchang-Oslo service, operated by Capital Airlines using an Airbus A330, will provide e-commerce deliveries to Norway for Scandinavian customers and pick up Norwegian salmon for the return journey. It is the first direct air freight service connecting China and Oslo, according to China’s civil aviation regulator.

Nanchang Airport is trying to portray itself as a logistics hub for China’s eastern region, connecting Chinese e-commerce companies such as Shein and Temu with consumers in northern Europe, according to Jiangxi provincial media. Shein and Temu have launched massive advertising campaigns in northern Europe, seeking to gain market share with low prices and free shipping, and the expansion of Chinese e-commerce in Europe is creating new opportunities for shipping salmon to China.

However, a doubling in the volume of e-commerce parcels arriving in the EU from China in April compared with a year earlier has prompted the European Commission to review its policy of removing import duties on e-commerce parcels worth less than €150 ($138), the Financial Times reported.

Meanwhile, a recent report by China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 2 suggested that rising supply is driving down salmon prices in Shanghai. Lin Nian Tai, a seafood procurement manager at an unnamed local retailer, said prices for Norwegian salmon had fallen 20 percent in May. His supermarket chain has a supply agreement with Norwegian companies that involves buying 700,000 to 800,000 whole salmon a year, Lin told CCTV.

The price of Norwegian salmon has fallen from CNY130 (USD17.87, EUR16.52) per kilogram in May to around …