EUMOFA: European fish market 2021 edition

Results from the publication:

• From 2019 to 2020, household expenditure on fishery and aquaculture products grew by 17%, which was much higher than the 2,1% inflation of prices for these products.
• In 2020, the EU imported 229.271 tonnes of fishmeal, marking an 8% decrease from 2019. It was imported at an average price of 1.296 EUR/tonne, which was 5% lower than in 2019. Its major suppliers are Morocco and Peru, with Peru almost entirely exporting fishmeal to Germany.
• Imports of fishmeal from both Morocco and Peru increased compared with 2019, while the average import price decreased. The overall decrease of extra-EU imports of fishmeal was in fact driven by lower supplies from the United States and Mauritania.
• Germany, the largest EU importer of fishmeal, imported 74.784 tonnes in 2020. It can be considered a major “entry point” to the EU market, primarily due to the logistics, including its harbour with overseas routes and trading traditions.
• Extra-EU exports of fishmeal totalled 184.705 tonnes worth EUR 276 million, which represented increases of 8% in volume and 3% in value from 2019. Denmark is responsible for the largest part of these exports, with 130.227 tonnes exported in 2020 and a value of EUR 191 million. Danish exports, mainly destined for Norway and the UK, drove the overall trend: the most important increase concerned exports to the UK which grew by 70% from 2019, and reached a decade peak of 26.371 tonnes.
• Fish oil exports in 2020 were the highest of the ten-year period analysed. With a 10% increase from 2019, they totalled 174.565 tonnes. They registered a value of EUR 323 million, which was also a decade peak. Denmark, the largest EU exporter, drove the general trend by increasing exports to Norway, the major destination. These exports achieved a 10-year volume and value peak in 2020, at 116.359 tonnes and EUR 204 million. They also registered a 10-year price peak – as the export price grew by 18% from 2019 to 2020 reaching 1.751 EUR/tonne.
• The landings of sprat in the EU amounted to 404.982 tonnes and EUR 96 million in 2019. Compared with 2018, the volume declined by 7% and touched the lowest level since 2015. The value remained almost unchanged, while the average price increased by 7% from 0,22 EUR/kg to 0,24 EUR/kg.
• Blue whiting is the most landed groundfish species in the EU. In 2019, it accounted for 42% of total volume of this commodity group, followed by hake and cod, which accounted for shares of 19% and 16%, respectively. After the peak touched in 2018, the landings of blue whiting in the EU dropped by 22% in 2019, reaching 376.023 tonnes. In value terms, they totalled EUR 114 million, which represented a 12% decrease from 2018.
• In 2019, total world catches and aquaculture production reached a new peak. With a 1% increase from 2018, their combined totals moved from almost 212 million tonnes to close to 214 million tonnes. This was driven by a 5% growth in aquaculture production, which increased from 114 million tonnes in 2018 to 120 million tonnes in 2019. Catches, on the other hand, registered a 4% decrease, dropping from 97 million tonnes to less than 94 million tonnes. China and Indonesia were the major contributors to the growth of farmed production, while Peru was behind the decrease in catches, due to the drop in catches of “anchoveta”.