The Norwegian salmon farmer has stopped building plans as a direct consequence of the government’s proposal on ground rent tax.
“It seems to be about investments of over NOK 3.3 billion (€333 million), divided between hatcheries and a new processing plant. The investments would lead to more than 100 new jobs and large ripple effects in the districts.”
That is what Tom Eirik Aasjord, Nova Sea’s managing director, said in a press release according to IntraFish.
“This in turn will significantly weaken our ability to handle new investments. In particular, this will affect investments on land, as tax deductions will only apply to investments in marine production itself. It is not in marine production that we have the biggest investments going forward,” Aasjord said.
SalmonBusiness has tried but unsuccessful to get a comment from Nova Sea since Thursday evening.
On Thursday, it became known that the wellboat shipping company Rostein is stopping orders for new wellboats in Norway.
“Rostein’s new construction program is based on expectations about salmon growth in Norway, which we now consider to be very uncertain. As the draft state budget proposes that salmon producers will receive a tax increase from 22 to 62 percent, we expect reduced investments in both conventional farming and new production technologies,” the shipping company said in a statement.
“We therefore choose to stop contracting for new construction in Norway until the framework conditions for the salmon producers are finally clarified. The management at our shipyard Larsnes Mek. Verksted has been informed of our decision,” it continued.
Grieg Seafood wrote in a statement on Wednesday evening that the company is “putting new investments on hold” while it investigates how the proposed salmon tax will affect the company’s business areas and strategy.
