Market – September 9, 2026
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met Bakkafrost CEO Regin Jacobsen in 2024. Photo: Bakkafrost
The Faroe Islands are pressing Brussels for better access to the EU market for processed seafood, including value-added salmon products, after Prime Minister Beinir Johannesen raised the issue directly with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this week.
The Faroese salmon industry can export most fresh, chilled and frozen fish to the EU tariff-free, but the trade agreement becomes considerably less favourable once fish is further processed. The Faroese government says only a limited range of value-added seafood products qualify for duty-free treatment, while products outside the agreed list face normal EU import tariffs.
For salmon, the agreement includes a tariff-free quota of just 400 tonnes for preserved salmon, illustrating the restrictions facing companies seeking to carry out more processing in the Faroe Islands before exporting to Europe.
Johannesen raised the broader market-access problem with von der Leyen during talks this week, but Faroese broadcaster Kringvarp Føroya reported that little immediate progress was made.
Economist Magni Laksafoss said the current system encourages Faroese producers to export raw material rather than create more value domestically, effectively shifting processing jobs into the EU. Better tariff-free access would allow more of that activity to remain in the islands, he said.
The issue is particularly relevant to Bakkafrost, the Faroe Islands’ dominant salmon producer. The group has built an increasingly integrated value chain spanning feed, smolt production, farming, harvesting and value-added processing, and describes its processing capacity as an important tool for responding to changing market conditions.
Bakkafrost currently expects to harvest around 97,000 tonnes of salmon in the Faroe Islands in 2026, alongside 20,000 tonnes in Scotland. It plans to place around 15–25% of combined harvest volumes under contracts this year, supported by its value-added processing operations.
CEO Regin Jacobsen confirmed this week that Bakkafrost is following the government’s effort to improve EU market access. His comments came during the Bakkafrost Summit, attended by around 150 customers and partners from 25 countries and designed to showcase the company’s production chain from smolt through to finished products.
The Faroese government has long argued that the arrangement with Brussels discourages investment in domestic seafood processing. While EU goods generally enjoy tariff-free access to the Faroese market, some Faroese seafood products continue to face quotas or tariffs entering the EU. The government is seeking full liberalisation of seafood trade.
The EU is the islands’ largest overall trading partner and took 27.7% of Faroese exports in 2025, making improved access particularly important for the seafood sector.