The founders of Norwegian Mountain Trout are hoping to sign a letter of intent with the American food chain to export up to 2,800 tonnes of their fish.
According to local newspaper OPP, representatives from the American fish importer Blue Circle Foods will visit Oppdal in Norway in September.
Hoping for a lucrative deal
The goal is to put in place a lucrative agreement, which guarantees major exports of trout to the United States. The trout is to be sold through Whole Foods, a large American food chain.
“They are excited about the quality of the fish. Americans believe the fish will be in high demand if the price is right”, said Stein Kjartan Vik, one of the founders.
Vik also said that the agreement will be crucial for realization of the plans in Oppdal, where the founders are planning a farm for mountain trout. Estimated cost is USD 57.7m. They hope to hire up to 50 new employees to work at the farm.
Advertised as salmonids
The fish will be advertised as “Mountain Salmon Trout” instead of just “Mountain Trout”. The reason for this is that most Americans are aware of salmon, but not too familiar with trout. Nevertheless, trout are salmonids.
Should an agreement be reached, the founders still need to find external investors, but according to Vik and Skjøtskift this is something they are working on.
Blue Circle Food also works with Kvarøy Fish farming in Nordland, which sells almost all its fish to the United States.
