The value and volume of salmon sold in the U.K. retail continued to grow last year as the species cemented its position as the channel’s most popular fish.
According to the latest HomeScan data supplied by the U.K. Seafish Authority, salmon sales for the 52 weeks ending 3 December 2016 amounted to GBP 820.6 million (USD 1 billion, EUR 949 million), up 4.4 percent year-on-year. The volume consumed, meanwhile, increased 1.9 percent to 69,557 metric tons (MT).
By comparison, total sales of salmon’s closest rival, cod, increased by 2.3 percent to GBP 390.9 million (USD 476.2 million, EUR 451.9 million) based on a volume of 59,420 MT (up 4.2 percent).
Highlighting the market’s growing affection for salmon, the average frequency of purchase over the 52 weeks increased 5.5 percent year-on-year to 11.2 occasions with the average annual spend on the fish up 2.6 percent per household to GBP 43.58 (USD 53.11, EUR 50.41), which was also more than double the amount spent on cod.
According to Seafish, total sales of seafood in retail for in-home consumption reached GBP 3.1 billion (USD 3.8 billion, EUR 3.6 billion) in the 52-week period, an increase of 1 percent. In volume terms, these sales equated to 329,626 MT of products.
