In 2021, the global seafood trade volume will be about 164 billion US dollars. Nearly half of the seafood flows to the EU, the United States and China, and the import volume in 2021 will exceed 80 billion US dollars.
In 2021, the seafood trade will be about 3.6 times that of beef (beef is the animal protein with the second trading volume), 5 times that of pork and 8 times that of poultry in the world.
The global seafood trade is characterized by a wide range of products, and each product has its own import and export market. There are 55 products with an annual trade volume of more than 400 million US dollars and 19 products with a trade volume of 200 million to 400 million US dollars, indicating the internationalization and diversification of seafood trade.
01 Three major trade flows of global seafood in 2021
The trade map shows that Norwegian seafood exported to the 27 EU countries+the UK still tops the list, with a value of more than US $8.7 billion, mainly for salmon farming.
The second largest trade flow is Canada’s exports to the United States, worth $5 billion, mainly crustaceans (excluding shrimp), worth $3.34 billion.
The third largest trade flow is India’s exports to the United States, worth more than 3.3 billion dollars. India’s South American white shrimp accounts for 80% of the total exports.
02 World Eight Seas Product Importers in 2021
1. EU 27+UK
In terms of trade volume, the EU 27+the UK is the largest importer of seafood (worth more than 34 billion US dollars), and also the world’s largest consumer of salmon. Salmon imports account for 41% of the total.
2. United States
In 2021, the total imports of seafood from the United States will be 28.1 billion US dollars, 8.6 billion US dollars higher than that in 2016. The main imports are prawns, salmon, crabs and lobsters.
3. China
From the perspective of import volume, China’s seafood import volume in 2021 will be 17 billion US dollars, ranking the third in the world; From the perspective of import volume, China’s import volume of seafood in 2021 will be 2 million tons, ranking the second in the world.
China’s seafood importers are scattered, mainly from Ecuador, Canada, India, Russia, the United States, etc., of which Ecuador has the largest import proportion of 23.15%.
4. Japan
Japan’s three largest importers are China, Chile and Russia. According to the import volume, Japan’s seafood ranking in 2021 is as follows: salmon and trout (13.4%); Bonito and other tuna (11.6%); Shrimp (11.1%), followed by processed shrimp products, crabs, cod and squid.
5. South Korea
In 2021, South Korea’s imports of seafood will be 5.74 billion dollars, with China and Russia as the main importing countries, followed by Vietnam, Norway and the United States, of which China’s exports to South Korea will be 1.2 billion dollars. In terms of quantity, South Korea mainly imports frozen Alaskan cod, surimi, squid, sardine, mackerel, shelled shrimp and other seafood.
6. Thailand
In 2021, Thailand’s total imports of seafood will be about 1.6 million tons, mainly including 788100 tons of frozen fish (including fish liver and eggs), 684400 tons of frozen tuna, 108600 tons of fish fillets, 3450 tons of salted and smoked fish, and 3210 tons of live fish.
7/8 Canada and Russia
Canada and Russia are the world’s seventh and eighth largest importers of marine products, respectively. In 2021, Canada imported 57.3 tons of seafood, with an import volume of 4.612 billion US dollars.
In terms of import volume, Canada’s main import countries are China, the European Union and Japan, with the import volume of 66400 tons, 36200 tons and 33500 tons respectively. The main imported species are salmon and shrimp, accounting for 43% of Canada’s import value of fish and seafood.
03 World Top 10 Seafood Exporters in 2021
1. China
China is the world’s largest exporter of seafood. In 2021, China’s seafood export volume will be 1329400 tons.
In 2021, China’s seafood will be mainly exported from Shandong, Fujian, Liaoning and Zhejiang provinces, accounting for 86.34% of China’s total seafood exports. The main export destinations are Japan, the United States, South Korea, the Philippines and other countries, among which Japan is the largest exporter of Chinese seafood, accounting for 18.81%.
2. Norway
In 2021, the export of Norwegian products will reach a record high, with an export volume of 3.1 million tons and a value of NOK 120.8 billion. The main export varieties are salmon, cod, mackerel, herring and trout.
The export volume of salmon is 1.3 million tons, and the largest incremental market is the Netherlands, where salmon will be exported after processing; Next are Italy and France.
In terms of export volume, Norway’s main export countries in 2021 are: EU, Asia and Eastern Europe. Norway exports 1.7 million tons of seafood to the EU, worth 70 billion Norwegian kronor; 585,000 tons and 89,000 tons of seafood were exported to Asia and Eastern Europe, with the value of 23.6 billion and 5.5 billion Norwegian kronor respectively.
3. EU 27+UK
In terms of trade volume, the EU 27+the UK is the world’s third largest exporter.
4. India
From 2021-2022, India’s seafood exports reached a new historical high. Frozen shrimp is still the main export variety, accounting for 53.18%.
The total export volume of frozen shrimp from 2021-2022 is 7,28123 tons. The United States is the largest market, with an import volume of 3,42572 tons. Other major exporting countries are China (1,25667 tons), EU (90549 tons) and Southeast Asia (44683 tons).
5/6 Vietnam and Ecuador
In 2021, Vietnam’s total exports will exceed 8.9 billion dollars, and the United States will remain the largest export market for Vietnam’s products in the South China Sea, with the total amount exceeding 2 billion dollars; Exports to the EU grew rapidly, with a total amount of more than US $1 billion.
7. Canada
In 2021, Canada’s marine exports will be 6.32 billion dollars. The United States has always accounted for 60% of the shares, while China’s share was close to 20% from 2018 to 2019, and now remains at about 15%.
Japan, Hong Kong, China, and South Korea are the third, fourth, and fifth largest markets of Canadian seafood respectively. However, the market shares of Japan and Hong Kong, China are declining, and the market shares of South Korea are basically stable. The main export varieties are Canadian lobster, Canadian arctic shrimp and Canadian snow crab.
8. Chile
In 2021, Chile’s total exports of fish and seafood will be about 7.1 billion dollars, thanks to the record breaking sales of salmon, trout, mackerel and mussels.
Salmon is Chile’s largest seafood export. In 2021, the total export volume will be 615000 tons, worth 4.8 billion dollars. The main export market is the United States, accounting for 44% of Chile’s total export volume; Next are Japan, Brazil, Russia and Mexico.
9. Russia
In 2021, Russia will export more than 2 million tons of fish and other marine products, worth more than US $7 billion. The largest fish exporter of Russia is South Korea, which is 2.2 billion US dollars; Next are the Netherlands and Japan, with US $1.5 billion and US $658 million respectively; Exports to China fell by 30.7% to US $1.1 billion. The largest African buyer of Russian seafood in 2021 is Nigeria, with a total of 32200 tons.
10. United States
In 2021, the export volume of fish and seafood of the United States will be 5.27 billion US dollars and 1 million tons. In 2021, the top ten exporters of American fish and seafood will be Canada, the European Union, China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Thailand, Mexico and Vietnam.