The European Union consumed EUR 52.2 billion (USD 56.6 billion) worth of seafood in 2012, according to a new infographic published by the European Commission.
Spending EUR 11.3 billion (USD 12 billion), Spain was the bloc’s biggest market for seafood products. France and Italy followed with spends of EUR 10 billion (USD 10.8 billion) and EUR 9.7 billion (USD 10.5 billion), respectively.
The Commission’s “International trade and the EU market for fisheries and aquaculture products” found that the per capita consumption of seafood in the EU stood at 23.81 kilograms (kg). Tuna was the leading product with a per capita consumption of 2.02 kg, followed by salmon with 1.97 kg and cod with 1.96 kg.
Some 10 species accounted for 60 percent of consumption, with pollock, herring, mussels, hake, mackerel, squid and frozen shrimp joining the three most popular products.
The Commission also found that EU production covered just 44 percent of its needs and confirmed that it was the largest importer of seafood, absorbing 24 percent of total global exports. Its exports of fisheries and aquaculture products, meanwhile, stood at 1.9 million metric tons (MT) in 2012.
