Imports into the European Union of seafood exports is up for “all players” – except China, says Xavier Guillou, policy officer at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Directorate General of the EU Commission.
While Chinese suppliers have been pointing to weak E.U. demand, in fact, E.U. seafood imports continue to rise year-on-year. The value of China’s exports to the E.U., however, has stayed flat at EUR 1.5 billion (USD 1.72 billion), while Iceland, Morocco, Norway, Vietnam have all recorded “fast growth” in sales to the E.U., according to Guillou.
Guillou points to trends such as a growing preference for on-shoring of processing back to Europe as one possible explanation, and to increased technical capacities in Vietnam as another. While European demand for Vietnamese pangasius is starting to shrink, Guillou added, Vietnam has started to overtake Thailand as a source of shrimp imports to the E.U.
While seafood sourcing for imports partly depends on costs in processing hubs, there’s also been a rise in recognition among Asian supplier-states that European rules, especially on certification for wild catch, are now being enforced more rigidly. The European seafood trade is “extremely reactive,” noted Guillou.
