South Korea sends mackerel envoy to Norway to secure 2,000 additional tons

The government is dispatching a special mackerel envoy to Norway to stabilize supply and prices, aiming to secure about 2,000 additional tons of the fish. The procured supply will be released into the domestic market, and a discount event covering all seafood categories will be held for the first time to ease the burden on household grocery bills.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced Saturday that it will send a delegation to Norway and other major mackerel-producing countries from July 6 through July 17 to assess available supply and hold talks on securing additional volumes with local governments and producers.

The delegation will include officials from the ministry, the Korea Maritime Institute, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives and private importers. The team aims to secure about 2,000 additional tons of Norwegian mackerel while also identifying new import sources — including the United Kingdom and the Faroe Islands — to diversify a supply chain currently concentrated in a single country.

The government plans to channel the imported volumes directly into the domestic market and will also purchase domestically caught mackerel, hairtail and squid — all of which have seen recent price increases — for discounted resale. Supplies secured from overseas producers will be linked with retail distributors to bring consumer prices down.

The ministry plans to hold consultations with major retailers, including hypermarkets, to monitor selling prices and consumption trends for key seafood items such as mackerel, hairtail and squid, and to strengthen cooperation so that government-secured supplies and discount support translate into actual price reductions for consumers.

A seafood discount event will also run at 24 hypermarkets and other brick-and-mortar stores nationwide from July 8 through July 28. Covering all seafood categories, it marks the first such event since the "Korea Seafood Festival" project launched in 2020. Consumers will be able to buy domestic seafood at up to 50 percent off during the event.

"The government will dispatch a special envoy directly to get ahead of rising mackerel prices, securing additional supply and identifying new import sources," Oceans and Fisheries Minister Hwang Jong-woo said. "We will follow through to ensure the procured supply reaches the domestic market quickly and translates into lower prices for consumers." He added that seafood prices are "a livelihood issue directly tied to people's daily lives," pledging to "run from overseas production sites to domestic retail floors and mobilize every available policy tool — imports, direct purchases, stockpiling and discounts — to lighten the burden on household budgets."

adastra@heraldcorp.com