Seafood trade data
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The value of our seafood imports has increased by over £1 billion in the last decade. In the UK, we import most of the seafood we eat. The top five imported species are what UK consumers eat the most.
In 2023, we imported over 1.1 million tonnes of seafood worth £3.4 billion. This represents a value decrease of 5% and volume decrease of 6% from 2022.
Our top five importing countries by value were:
- Norway (£632 million)
- China (£307 million)
- Iceland (£276 million)
- Vietnam (£227million)
- Netherlands (£191 million)
Our top five imported species by value were:
- Salmon (£752 million)
- Shrimps and prawns (£570million)
- Cod (£522 million)
- Tuna (£414 million)
- Haddock (£198 million)
In 2023, our top five importing countries by volume were:
- China (171,311 tonnes)
- Norway (137,279 tonnes)
- Iceland (93,239 tonnes)
- Netherlands (85,461 tonnes)
- Vietnam (71,266 tonnes)
In 2023, our top five imported species by volume were:
- Tuna (194,049 tonnes)
- Cod (193,018 tonnes)
- Salmon (116,067 tonnes)
- Shrimps and prawns (103,240 tonnes)
- Haddock (101,104 tonnes)
In terms of volume, the UK exported nearly 12,000 tonnes less seafood than it did in 2022. However, the value of our exports increased by £8 million. The EU remains the UK’s largest export market, taking a 70% share of total UK export value.
In 2023, our top five exporting countries by value were:
- France (£750 million)
- USA (£232 million)
- Spain (£106 million)
- Netherlands (£90 million)
- China (£85 million)
In 2023, our top five exported species by value were:
- Salmon (£667 million)
- Mackerel (£120 million)
- Nephrops (£115 million)
- Trout (£95 million)
- Scallops (£91 million)
In 2023, our top five exporting countries by volume were:
- France (154,922 tonnes)
- Netherlands (46,005 tonnes)
- Spain (31,684 tonnes)
- USA (26,426 tonnes)
- Republic of Ireland (18,400 tonnes)
In 2023, our top five exported species by volume were:
- Salmon (90,752 tonnes)
- Mackerel (76,323 tonnes)
- Herring (33,125 tonnes)
- Scallop (24,683 tonnes)
- Whelk (22,516 tonnes)
Our Trade and Tariff Tool has data for seafood imported and exported in the UK. Businesses can use it to research potential new markets.
It’s an interactive tool built using business intelligence software on Tableau and gives access to historical HMRC trade in goods statistics from 2010 to 2024. It covers data on fish and shellfish trade for food and non-food use. It also includes links to trade tariff controls for selected commodities.
The tool contains 5 pages displaying trade data by value, price and reported weight or converted to live weight. Make year by year comparisons filtering for species, countries, product formats and more of your choice to identify trends and opportunities. For more options hover over the information symbol on each page.
Follow the link below to access the Trade and Tariff Tool:
Follow the link below to access the latest UK seafood trade data from our insights and economics teams.
Contact us
If you’d like further information on any of our trade data, please contact our Economics team by emailing economics@seafish.co.uk