Vastly improved fisheries and aquaculture yields, together with soaring consumer demand, have powered substantial growth in global seafood trade over the past 50 years, but that growth will steadily ease over the next decade, according to the latest “State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture” (SOFIA) report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
FAO’s latest edition of SOFIA, which the organization releases biennially, revealed that in 2024, the global value of international trade in aquatic products – involving 230 countries and territories – amounted to USD 186 billion (EUR 164 billion). Fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other aquatic animal products accounted for 99 percent of this total, or around USD 184 billion (EUR 162.2 billion), in exports. The remaining USD 2 billion (EUR 1.8 billion) comprised trade in algae and other aquatic products such as sponges and shells.
That total fell short of the record USD 192 billion (EUR 169.3 billion) recorded in 2022 but still represented a modest increase compared to 2023. The report added that preliminary estimates for 2025 project an increase between 3 percent and 4 percent, pointing “to some continued recovery.”
Between 1976 and 2024, the nominal value of global seafood exports grew at an average annual rate of 6.8 percent. This growth, the report said, has been underpinned by improvements in storage, preservation, transportation, logistics, and processing technologies, as well as by competitive pricing and more effective trade policies.
Last year, Europe and Asia maintained their positions as the leading exporting continents, accounting for 38 percent and 34 percent of total export value, respectively. They were followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (15 percent), North America (6 percent), Africa (5 percent), and Oceania (2 percent).
In addition to being the leading global producer of seafood products, China has also been the world’s main exporter by country since 2002. In 2024, its overseas sales were estimated at USD 20.1 billion (EUR 17.2 billion), with products shipped to more than 180 countries and territories.
Norway was the next top seafood exporter, sending a record USD 16 billion (EUR 14.1 billion) abroad, followed by Vietnam with its trade totaling USD 10.5 billion (EUR 9.3 billion) and Ecuador at USD 9.2 billion (EUR 8.1 billion).
The European Union continued to be the largest import market for seafood products in 2024, with shipments into the bloc valued at USD 63.2 billion (EUR 55.7 billion), while the largest individual importing country was the United States, which sourced USD 26.9 billion (EUR 23.7 billion) worth of products, representing 15 percent of world imports. China and Japan followed with import totals of USD 22 billion (EUR 19.4 billion) and USD 12.6 billion (EUR 11.1 billion), respectively.
Finfish dominated global trade, making up 68 percent of the total value. Crustaceans followed with 22 percent, and mollusks and other aquatic invertebrates contributed 11 percent.
Since 2013, salmonids have been the most valuable traded species group and, in 2024, accounted for 21 percent of total value – around USD 38.1 billion (EUR 33.6 billion). Other important species groups in terms of export value included shrimps and prawns comprising 16 percent of the total value and USD 28.7 billion (EUR 25.3 billion) by value; tunas at 10 percent and USD 17.7 billion (EUR 15.6 billion); and cods, hakes, and haddocks at 8 percent and USD 15 billion (EUR 13.2 billion).
Over the next decade, the SOFIA report projects the share of total fisheries and aquaculture yields exported in 2034 will total 35 percent – 30 percent if trade within the E.U. isn’t included – which would be down from 36 percent in 2024.
This deceleration in trade growth, it said, will reflect slower production expansion, rising domestic consumption in major producing countries, and higher prices that temper demand.
Most of the export growth is expected to originate from Asia, which will account for about 49 percent of additional exported volumes by 2034. Meanwhile, the European Union, the United States, China, and Japan are predicted to remain the top importing markets, absorbing 50 percent of total imports for aquatic food consumption, compared with 52 percent in 2024.
Regarding prices, the report anticipates there will be moderate increases for fisheries and aquaculture products through 2034, driven by sustained demand growth, higher input costs, and constrained supply growth. It added that aquaculture prices are expected to rise slightly faster than wild capture prices and that this will reflect higher feed, energy, and compliance costs.
Prices of fishmeal and fish oil are expected to remain relatively high throughout the time frame, supported by strong demand from aquaculture and limited scope for supply expansion.
Acknowledging that its projections are based on assumptions regarding economic conditions, policy frameworks, resource availability, and environmental stability, FAO cautioned that deviations from these expectations could lead to different outcomes.
The report advised that key sources of uncertainty include geopolitical developments, changes in trade policies, macroeconomic volatility, and shifts in consumer behavior, particularly stating that climate change and other forms of variability “pose growing risks” to fisheries and aquaculture with impacts that are “likely to be unevenly distributed” across different regions and production systems.
