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Salmon:professional buying guide, Norway, Scotland, Label Rouge, size grades and prices

Atlantic salmon for the trade: farming, origins (Norway, Scotland), Label Rouge, size grades, freshness, yield, raw use and wholesale prices at Rungis.

Updated 7 min readLiveCriée editorial team

Contents
  1. Buying sheet
  2. Why does salmon have no season?
  3. Norway, Scotland, Label Rouge: what is the difference?
  4. Which size grade and which cut to choose?
  5. How to judge freshness?
  6. Which traps to avoid?
  7. What to replace salmon with?
  8. What makes the price of salmon move?
  9. Frequently asked questions

The salmon sold in France is almost entirely farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), imported first of all from Norway and the United Kingdom; it is the leading fresh seafood species imported into France, and wild Atlantic salmon is now only a rarity. In France, the permitted trade names are "saumon atlantique" and "saumon". The label must say "farmed" and name the country where the fish did more than half of its growing.

Buying sheet

Atlantic salmon
Scientific nameSalmo salar
SeasonNo marked season: farmed salmon is harvested all year round
Closed seasonNot applicable to farming
Minimum sizeNot applicable to farming
Size grades on price lists (examples of trade practice, not a standard)Whole gutted, by fish weight: 2 to 3 kg, 3 to 4 kg, 4 to 5 kg, 5 to 6 kg, 6 kg and over. Cuts: fillet skin-on or skinless, portion, loin, steak
French fish auctionsNo significant sales: salmon arrives through imports, wholesalers and Rungis
OriginsFrench imports 2024: Norway (88,000 t) and the United Kingdom (65,000 t), far ahead of Poland (processed salmon), Denmark, Ireland, Iceland and Chile. Worldwide, Norway and Chile make up 82% of production
Production methodFreshwater phase, then farming at sea, most often in net pens. Wild: 1,248 t of Atlantic salmon caught worldwide in 2023
Yield65% as steaks, 58% as suprêmes for a 3 to 4 kg salmon (Seafish)
StorageWhole gutted or in cuts, on ice or in a cold room (0 to 2 °C). Under Label Rouge, sell-by date of 12 days after slaughter for whole fish

Imports: FranceAgriMer, foreign trade 2024 (customs), all presentations. World production and catches: FAO, reproduced by EUMOFA (2023). Salmon does not go through French fish auctions: this guide has no seasonality calendar.

  • 201,000 tof salmon imported into France in 2024, leading imported species by volume
  • €9.80/kgwhole Norwegian salmon of 2 to 3 kg, average wholesale price at Rungis in 2024
  • 65%yield as steaks for a 3 to 4 kg salmon

Source: FranceAgriMer, foreign trade 2024; RNM quotations reproduced by EUMOFA; Seafish (yield).

Why does salmon have no season?

Because it is farmed. Farms harvest all year round: salmon is available every week, unlike fish sold at auction. What varies is the volume harvested from one week to the next, and the price follows. An example noted by FAO: after two weeks of reduced harvests at Christmas 2023, 3 to 4 kg Norwegian salmon rose by about 19% in one week, to €10.45/kg in early January 2024.

Norway, Scotland, Label Rouge: what is the difference?

  • The origin is read on the label. For a farmed fish, the country given is the one where it gained more than half of its weight or spent more than half of its farming period.
  • Scottish salmon costs a little more than Norwegian: about 12% more at Rungis in 2024, at equal size.
  • The Scottish Label Rouge (LA 33/90 "Saumon frais", fresh salmon) requires at least 10 months at sea, a stocking density of 20 kg/m³ at most (against up to 25 kg/m³ for standard salmon), flesh with 18% fat at most, a numbered tag at the gill and a sell-by date of 12 days after slaughter. It was worth about 15% more than standard Scottish salmon at Rungis in 2024.
  • EU salmon remains marginal: 9,289 t produced in 2023, 88% of it in Ireland.

Which size grade and which cut to choose?

Size grade (weight of the whole gutted fish)Use (editorial guideline)
2 to 4 kgportion-sized pieces and fillets, whole salmon as a buffet centrepiece
4 to 6 kgthick loins, regular portions, steaks
6 kg and overslicing, gravlax, long loins

Yield depends on the cut: 65% as steaks, 58% as suprêmes for a 3 to 4 kg salmon (Seafish). For 150 g of suprême per plate, you need to buy about 260 g of whole gutted fish.

How to judge freshness?

  • Whole: shiny, silvery skin, scales in place, bulging and clear eye, red gills, firm belly.
  • Cut: firm, shiny flesh, tight flakes, with no tears or exudate in the packaging.
  • The slaughter date or the use-by date is what counts; under Label Rouge, whole fish is sold no later than 12 days after slaughter.
  • The colour of the flesh comes from the feed and is controlled at the farm: it is not a sign of freshness.

Which traps to avoid?

  • "Wild salmon". Wild Atlantic salmon accounts for only 1,248 t caught worldwide in 2023. A wild salmon offered in volume is almost always a Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus, for example sockeye salmon, "saumon rouge du Pacifique"): another species, to be judged as such. The scientific name decides.
  • Raw use. Farmed fish fed on prepared feed have a probability of Anisakidae infestation judged very low by ANSES (French food safety agency). For salmon served raw without prior freezing, Regulation (EC) 853/2004 nevertheless requires the supplier to guarantee it: farmed from the embryo, fed on feed free of viable parasites, and checked. Without this written guarantee, freeze.
  • Average import prices. Salmon from Poland quoted at €15.75/kg on average is not "more expensive" than Norwegian at €8.76/kg: it is mostly processed salmon. Poland is one of the leading markets for Norwegian salmon, which it processes into finished products (FAO): the average says nothing about the price of a whole fish.

What to replace salmon with?

UseSubstituteDifference
Roasted or grilled portionLarge farmed troutsimilar flesh, French production
Raw, tartare, gravlaxFarmed trout, with the same health guaranteefiner flesh
SmokedSmoked troutFrench production possible

What makes the price of salmon move?

Salmon does not go through fish auctions: the public benchmarks are the wholesale quotations at Rungis and the average import price.

Average wholesale price of salmon at Rungis, 2024Average price
Norway, whole gutted, 2 to 3 kgabout €9.80/kg
Scotland, whole gutted, 2 to 3 kgabout €11.00/kg
Scotland Label Rouge, whole gutted, 2 to 3 kgabout €12.60/kg
Norway, fillets (fish of 3 to 4 kg)about €15.60/kg
Imports into France, all presentationsabout €9.50/kg

Year 2024. Wholesale: RNM quotations (FranceAgriMer) at Rungis, yearly average, reproduced by EUMOFA. Imports: FranceAgriMer, foreign trade 2024 (customs), average of different products (whole, fillets, smoked). These are not auction prices, and not the price paid to your supplier: transport and margin are added to them.

2024 was a year of falling prices: France imported 7% more salmon than in 2023, and prices fell at every stage, from €9.95 to €9.50/kg on average at import, and from €10.40 to €9.80/kg for whole Norwegian salmon at Rungis. The price rises when harvests shrink and falls when they grow, from one week to the next as from one year to the next. Origin and label come at a price: about 12% more for Scottish than for Norwegian, and another 15% more for Label Rouge. Finally, the fillet was worth about 1.6 times the whole fish: with a yield of 58 to 65%, a kilo of flesh taken from a whole fish at €9.80/kg comes to €15 to €17/kg, roughly the price of the fillet. The choice between whole fish and fillet therefore comes down mainly to labour and the use of trimmings.

  • Harvested volumes: in Norway above all, they set the week's price.
  • Origin and label: Norway, then Scotland, then Scottish Label Rouge.
  • The size: large salmon cost slightly more per kilo (early January 2024, according to FAO: €10.45/kg for 3 to 4 kg, €10.65/kg for 4 to 5 kg).
  • The cut: at retail, fresh fillet sold at about €26.50/kg in France in 2024 (EUMOFA), against about €15.60/kg wholesale at Rungis.

Frequently asked questions

Does salmon have a season?

No: the Atlantic salmon sold in France is farmed salmon, harvested all year round. It is the volumes harvested each week, especially in Norway, that make the price vary.

What is the price of salmon?

In 2024, at Rungis, whole Norwegian salmon of 2 to 3 kg was quoted at about €9.80/kg on average, Scottish at about €11.00/kg and Scottish Label Rouge at about €12.60/kg (RNM quotations reproduced by EUMOFA). The price paid to your supplier adds transport and margin.

What is the difference between Norwegian and Scottish salmon?

Both are farmed Atlantic salmon. The country of farming appears on the label; Scottish salmon generally costs a little more, and it exists under Label Rouge (LA 33/90), with a specification covering time at sea, stocking density, fat in the flesh and freshness.

Can farmed salmon be served raw without freezing it?

Only if the supplier guarantees that the fish was farmed from the embryo, fed exclusively on feed free of viable parasites, and that a check confirms it (Regulation (EC) 853/2004). Without this guarantee, prior freezing is required.

What is the yield of salmon?

For a 3 to 4 kg salmon, about 65% as steaks and 58% as suprêmes (Seafish). For 150 g of suprême per plate, allow about 260 g of whole gutted fish.

Sources

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