While U.S. seafood exports set records in fiscal year 2014, the real story is the surge in exports to China, when traditionally the trade has gone in the opposite direction.
While only 7 percent of U.S. seafood exports, in terms of value, were destined for China in 2004, that figure has risen to 22 percent. China will likely surpass the European Union (23 percent in 2014) as the top market for U.S. seafood exports over the next few years, according to a new report from USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS).
“Demand in China, especially for high-quality products, has been increasing as a result of strong economic growth, and an expanding middle class,” Abraham Inouye, an agricultural economist with FAS, told SeafoodSource. “Although domestic production has increased, it has not kept pace with the increase in demand for certain products; therefore, the need for increased exports.”
The species being shipped to China in greater volume include Maine lobsters, Florida spiny lobsters and geoduck clams from the Pacific Northwest. Shellfish exports are led by snow crab, lobsters and loligo squid. Meanwhile, pink salmon (13 percent of exports), cod (13 percent) and Alaska pollock (7 percent) were the top finfish products exported to China in fiscal year 2014 (2013 October through 2014 September).
Another reason for China’s growing demand is its consumers’ comfort with buying fresh and frozen seafood online. “China’s eCommerce sales of food products dwarf that of the U.S., and are growing at a rapid rate,” Keith Schneller, former director of the FAS Agricultural Trade Office in Shanghai, told SeafoodSource. “China’s eCommerce platforms such as yiguo.com, tmall.com, and yihaodian.com allow American seafood suppliers to market their high-end seafood products, both live and frozen, directly to consumers across China, especially in second and third-tier cities that don’t have access to modern supermarket retailers.”
Overall U.S. seafood exports rose 4 percent in fiscal year 2014 to reach USD 5.3 billion (EUR 4.6 billion). Still, China is the world’s leading seafood export, followed by Norway, Thailand, India, the E.U. and the United States, which represents a 6 percent share of global trade.
America’s top five export destinations in 2014 were: the E.U., China, Canada, Japan and South Korea, comprising more than 83 percent of total export value.
The E.U. is the largest market for U.S. scallops, and other top seafood exports include lobster and Alaska pollock fillets, according to the report. Canada was the largest U.S. market for shellfish — led by lobster — and imported more shellfish than fish, by value, from the U.S. Meanwhile, the majority of U.S. exports to South Korea are Alaskan pollock surimi and Alaskan pollock roe.
Other fish products (primarily roe) account for eight percent of total U.S. fish and seafood exports in FY 2104, down 3 percent from the previous year, but up 16 percent over the past five years.
The lion’s share (80 percent in FY 2014) of U.S. roe exports were shipped to Japan. “While Russia had previously been the second-largest market, shipments there are currently restricted as a result of the recent Russian ban on certain U.S. agricultural and food exports,” Inouye said.
Japan is still by far the largest foreign market at USD 192 million (EUR 165.3 million) in 2014 for fish roe, primarily from salmon and Alaska pollock, However, Japanese imports of fish from all suppliers have been flat to falling in recent years, according to FAS.
