Demand for pollock in the European Union reached an all-time-high in 2019, with member states importing higher volumes worth a higher value.
E.U. member states imported a record 305,000 metric tons (MT) of pollock valued at EUR 840 million (USD 986.7 million) in 2019, with the two totals representing year-on-year increases of 9 percent and 38 percent, respectively, finds new market intelligence compiled by the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA).
This trade was dominated by three major players. The United States and Russia were the most significant suppliers, while China was the main processing country for pollock destined to the E.U. market. Overall, China, with 165,000 MT, provided 54 percent of the volume imported into member states last year, while the United States (95,000 MT) and Russia (44,000 MT) accounted for 31 percent and 14 percent of the market.
In value terms, China generated revenues of EUR 435 million (USD 511 million), followed by the United States with EUR 278 million (USD 326.6 million), and Russia’s EUR 120 million (USD 141 million).
The strong trade trend continued into the start of this year with a total 87,000 MT of pollock valued at EUR 261 million (USD 306.7 million) imported by E.U. markets in the first quarter. The 2 percent increase in volume was thanks to a 55 percent increase in the Russian supply at 10,000 MT.
Both the Chinese (46,000 MT) and U.S. (30,000 MT) supply of pollock decreased in Q1 2020 by 2 percent and 3 percent respectively. But EUMOFA pointed out that the import value increased for all suppliers in the first three months, and also that the total import value increased by 21 percent, which was supported by high fillet prices.
E.U. imports of pollock are heavily dominated by frozen fillets (93 percent in 2019), with only small volumes of other cuts and minimal amounts of frozen whole products. Because China is dependent on supplied raw material from Russia and the United States, which arrives frozen and is frozen again after processing, its “double-frozen” pollock products imported into the E.U. tend to achieve a lower price.
In 2019, the import price for frozen fillets from China averaged 10 percent lower than U.S. fillets and 3 percent lower than Russian fillets, the analysis found.
It also confirmed that the price level of frozen fillets increased throughout last year, achieving an average import price of EUR 2.82 (USD 3.31) per kilogram by the end of the year, which was 26 percent higher than in 2018. Prices continued to surge in the first-quarter of 2020, averaging at EUR 3.08 (USD 3.62) per kilogram, which represented a 9 percent increase compared with the end of 2019.
The largest E.U. importer of pollock is Germany, which leads the way in both consumption and production. In 2019, Germany imported 137,000 MT valued at EUR 375 million (USD 440.7 million), which represented a 2 percent decrease in volume but a 24 percent value rise.
France, the E.U.'s second-largest pollock importer, experienced a similar development, with a 7 percent decrease in volume and a 13 percent increase in imported value last year, with 40,000 MT and EUR 109 million (USD 128.1 million).
Behind these two countries, the next largest E.U. importers were Poland (39,000 MT), the United Kingdom (29,000 MT), and the Netherlands (27,000 MT).
Pollock is the fourth most consumed species in the E.U. after tuna, salmon, and cod. In 2018, the apparent consumption per capita in the bloc was estimated as 1.68 kilograms (live weight).
Photo courtesy of Diana Taliun/Shutterstock
