Significantly greater volumes of mackerel caught by the U.K. pelagic fleet went to Nigeria last year, with the importing country also paying much more for the fish than in 2015.
According to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) finalized seafood trade statistics for 2016, Nigeria imported more than 12,685 metric tons (MT) of U.K.-landed mackerel worth over GBP 10.7 million (USD 14.4 million, EUR 12 million) last year, representing year-on-year increases of 58.2 percent and 77.2 percent respectively. At the same time, the average price paid for these imports jumped by 12 percent to GBP 0.85 (USD 1.15, EUR 0.96) per kg.
In volume terms, Nigeria was the second-largest market for U.K. mackerel last year. The Netherlands was by far the No. 1 destination for the product, importing 23,692 MT for GBP 15.8 million (USD 21.3 million, EUR 17.8 million), although these totals were down 30.4 percent and 14.9 percent respectively.
Overall, the United Kingdom exported 83,849 MT of mackerel worth GBP 81.1 million (USD 109.5 million, EUR 91.3 million) last year, up 4.5 percent and 19.8 percent respectively. The average export price paid for U.K. mackerel was 14.7 percent higher year-on-year at GBP 0.97 (USD 1.31, EUR 1.09) per kg.
Consequently, mackerel was the country’s fourth most valuable exported seafood species, behind salmon at GBP 590.4 million (USD 797 million, EUR 664.6 million), scallops with GBP 128.1 million (USD 172.9 million, EUR 144.2 million) and third-placed nephrops with GBP 113.4 million (USD 153.1 million, EUR 127.7 million).
