China moved past Canada as the country that sent the most seafood to the United States in 2020, according to year-end import totals released recently by NOAA.
China sent 343.6 million kilograms of seafood to the U.S., up from 294.2 million kilos in 2019. The total far surpassed Canada’s 248.8 million kilograms of exports to the U.S., and is a drastic drop from the 304.7 million kilograms it sent to its southern neighbor in 2019.
However, Canada was still tops in the value of the seafood it sent to the U.S. The USD 2.6 billion (EUR 2.1 billion) it earned from its seafood exports to the U.S. in 2020 fell steeply from the USD 3.3 billion (EUR 2.7 billion) it took in 2019, but it remained ahead of China’s haul of USD 1.4 billion (EUR). China recorded export values to the U.S. of USD 3 billion (EUR 2.5 billion) in 2019.
In terms of volume, India was the third-largest exporter to the U.S., sending 235.1 million kilos of seafood in 2020, down from 267.9 million kilos in 2019. Its 2020 value collected for its U.S. seafood exports was USD 2 billion (EUR 1.7 billion), down from USD 2.4 billion (EUR 2 billion) in 2019.
Chile was fourth, sending 223.6 million kilos of seafood to the U.S., worth USD 1.8 billion (EUR 1.5 billion). Its volume was actually up in 2020 – in 2019, it sent 220.8 million kilograms, though it earned much less money for its 2020 exports to the U.S., as despite the larger volume, it actually earned less money from its sales. Its 2019 seafood exports to the U.S. were valued at USD 2.1 billion (EUR 1.7 billion).
In fifth place was Indonesia, which sent 199 million kilograms of seafood to the U.S., valued at USD 1.8 billion (EUR 1.5 billion). The Southeast Asian’s country’s 2020 totals were down from 2019, when it sent 200.4 million kilograms of seafood valued at USD 2 billion (EUR 1.7 billion).
Tied in volume at 199 million kilos, but with a lower recorded value for 2020 was Thailand, which collected USD 1.1 billion (EUR 904.8 million) for its 2020 seafood exports to the U.S. It sent 192.3 million kilos in 2019, meaning it upped its exports by volume, but the value of its products dropped from USD 1.2 billion (EUR 987 million) in 2019.
Vietnam was seventh on the list, sending 185.5 million kilos in 2020, down from 238.5 million kilos in 2019. It pocketed USD 1.1 billion (EUR 904.8 million) for those products, down from USD 1.6 billion (EUR 1.3 billion) in 2019.
Next on the list was Ecuador, which sent 142.5 million kilos, up from 122.3 million kilos in 2019. It was one of the few countries that recorded a higher year-over-year export value for its products sent to the U.S. in 2020, pulling in USD 848.7 million (EUR 698 million), up from USD 814.5 million (EUR 669.9 million) in 2019.
Mexico was ninth, with 82.7 million kilos, down from 93.9 million kilos in 2019. It saw the value of its exports slip to USD 501.7 million (EUR 412.6 million) in 2020, down from USD 627.7 million (EUR 516.3 million) in 2019.
Norway was tenth on the list in volume terms, sending 76.1 million kilos of seafood in 2020, down from 76.1 million kilos in 2019. NOAA listed Norway’s products as having a collectively value of USD 699 million (EUR 575 million), down from USD 894.8 million (EUR ) in 2019.
While Russia sent just 35 million kilos of seafood to the U.S. in 2020, the value of that seafood was USD 711.4 million (EUR 585.2 million), placing it above Norway and Mexico in that category.
Photo courtesy of Sorbis/Shutterstock
