A proposal to impose a surcharge on ASC-certified fish in Norway would affect more than 40 percent of the country's salmon farms.
Norwegian salmon farms with Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification are facing a punitive surcharge under a pricing proposal related to taxation in the world’s largest salmon-producing nation.
Norway’s Aquaculture Price Council, tasked with setting fish prices as a basis for tax settlements, has proposed a surcharge of NOK 2 (€0.17/$0.18) per kilogram on salmon produced by ASC-certified farms. No other certification scheme was referenced in a preliminary list put forward in December, industry sources told IntraFish.
More than 40 percent of Norway’s salmon farms are ASC-certified and would be negatively affected by such a surcharge on production.
“It is strange that producers who commit to responsible aquaculture and seafood, certified through a scheme designed for sustainable operations, are being financially penalized,” Laetitia Rosing, ASC producer outreach and regional manager for the Nordics, said in a statement.
“This goes against all logic in the Norwegian tax system,” she said, “and we believe that many consequences for the Norwegian aquaculture industry have not been considered.”
In a letter sent to farmers shortly before Christmas, the price council, known as Prisradet, proposed 91 different preliminary price recommendations across seven different weight classes – its first such list of recommendations for companies liable to basic rent tax.
The timetable for its implementation or review is not known, but a consultation period ended on Jan. 17, according to Rosing, who added that ASC became aware of the proposal through “informal conversations” four days after that deadline had passed.
“The lack of transparency and the exclusion of a key stakeholder makes us question the entire process,” she said, noting that ASC-certified salmon had been explicitly mentioned in the proposal.
The certification body has requested an “urgent meeting” to discuss its concerns and “expects the Minister of Finance to take the necessary steps to ensure that responsible producers are not penalized, and that ASC as an affected party is informed and heard in this process,” Rosing said.
‘Impractical and flawed’
ASC CEO Chris Ninnes has written to the Norwegian Ministry of Finance to express his organization’s concerns. In a letter dated Jan. 30, he called the taxation mechanism “impractical and flawed” and said it risked “mistaxation, increasing bureaucracy and uncertainty for industry.”
“We believe that this proposed taxation will create a financial burden to fish farmers and will likely result in a lower uptake of ASC certification,” Ninnes wrote. “By imposing additional costs on ASC-certified farms, the proposal discourages responsible aquaculture, contradicting international efforts to improve sustainability.”
Ninnes also criticized the consultation process.
“We would expect a national government to apply best practice in its consultation processes,” he said. “However, the lack of inclusion and transparency in this case is blatant and completely unacceptable.”
The proposed surcharge, he said, appears to have singled out ASC-certified salmon.
“The proposal does not consider that often any premium for ASC-certified salmon is used as a 'hedge' in negotiating, so the price can vary,” Ninnes wrote. “Therefore, setting an arbitrary price norm for ASC-certified salmon would be incorrect.”
“We have already heard of farms pausing their certification process due to this proposal,” he said. “Putting barriers in the way of improvement is counterproductive and should not be supported.”
‘Incorrect methodology’
The Norwegian Seafood Federation, Sjomat Norge, also wrote to the Ministry of Finance in January, saying that it would contest preliminary standard prices that it described as “incorrect”.
Sjomat Norge called the proposal an “example of incorrect methodology and incorrect pricing.”
"ASC prices are largely a negotiation between buyer and seller,” the group said. “Whether and possibly how large a price premium is achieved varies.”
Line Ellingsen, CEO of Norwegian salmon farmer Ellingsen Seafood, told IntraFish she believes that the proposed surcharge for ASC-certified fish is too high.
“We don't get paid that much extra,” she said. “What's more, some of the ASC fish is just mixed in with regular fish and sold at the same price.
“In short, we are being punished for producing sustainably certified salmon.”
Source - https://www.intrafish.com
