Consumers in the European Union spent more money on seafood last year, but the actual volume of products bought and consumed decreased.
According to the newest edition of the European Commission’s “EU Fish Market Report,” prepared by the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA), E.U. consumer spending on fishery and aquaculture products grew by 4 percent in 2024, or EUR 2.7 billion (USD 3.1 billion), compared to the previous year, reaching EUR 62.8 billion (USD 73.2 billion).
Although the increase marks the third consecutive year of spending by value, the report attributed the upturn simply to higher prices, which grew more than 25 percent between 2020 and 2024.
By market, the report found that Italy, which has historically been the E.U.’s leading spender on fishery and aquaculture products, was overtaken by Spain in 2024.
In terms of per-capita spending, Portugal remained the highest in the bloc, reaching EUR 464 (USD 540) per person last year, which was more than three times the E.U. average of EUR 139 (USD 162) and EUR 182 (USD 213) higher than Luxembourg at EUR 282 (USD 329), which ranked second. Spain was third, with per-capita spending of EUR 260 (USD 303).
The report also found that meat continued to be Europeans’ top animal protein choice; across all all E.U. countries, on average, E.U. household expenditure on fish and aquaculture products was about one-fourth the total spent on meat, with EUR 246 billion (USD 287 billion) spent on meat products last year.
It further noted that fishery and aquaculture products represented less than 1 percent of total household expenditure on goods and services in the E.U. – lower than the 3.5 percent share allocated to meat – and at-home consumption of fresh fish fell by 5 percent in 2024 year over year.
The EUMOFA report also highlighted more detailed consumption rates referencing 2023 data, finding that the bloc’s consumption of fisheries and aquaculture products totaled around 10.25 million metric tons (MT) in 2023, which was the lowest in 10 years and nearly 240,000 MT less than in 2022. The total comprised 7.32 million MT of wild-caught fish and 2.92 million MT of aquaculture products.
Seafood consumption by E.U. citizens fell to 22.89 kilograms per capita in 2023 – a 3 percent decrease compared to 2022 – comprising 16.35 kilograms of wild-caught products, which was the lowest level in a decade, and 6.53 kilograms of farmed aquatic products.
Portugal maintained the highest per-capita consumption rate in Europe in 2023 at 53.61 kilograms, but the report noted the country’s consumption has followed a downward trend after a peak of 61 kilograms per person in 2018.
Tuna, salmon, Alaska pollock, shrimp, and cod were the bloc’s most consumed seafood.
