Licenses, governance, concentration and market imperfections in the Norwegian salmon industry

A proposal of a 40% rent tax on salmon farming in Norway in September 2022 prompted debate about the level of market imperfection in the Norwegian salmon industry and the magnitude of the available rent at the primary stages of production. The production of farmed salmon in the coastal areas of Norway is contingent on having licenses for aquaculture practices. This industry has evolved into a huge sector with large corporates holding numerous licenses and successfully exporting salmon to many countries across the world. This development has increased concerns about concentration and possibly the creation of rents and market imperfections in the industry. In this study, the markup approach and stochastic frontier methodology were used to investigate market imperfections in the Norwegian salmon industry. The analysis is based on salmon producers' and primary processors' financial data for the 2008-2018 period. In order to interpret the markup estimations, we analyzed available data on the development of licenses and operational costs, and we explored the literature on the industry's governance. The findings indicate a low level of concentration and a low level of market imperfections, which was also reduced over the study period, and was higher for small and medium-sized firms.