The EU imported a significantly larger volume of haddock last year in order to keep up with the domestic demand, according to the European Commission’s European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA).
In 2016, the bloc imported 70,000 metric tons (MT) of haddock products for a total value of EUR 210 million (USD 246.6 million), representing a 9 percent increase in volume but an 8 percent in value from 2015. Because the EU fleet accounts for only around 15 percent of the total global haddock catch – achieving just 30 percent self-sufficiency – it depends strongly on imports to fulfil the domestic demand for the whitefish.
The United Kingdom is the EU’s largest whitefish market, importing 33,000 MT haddock products valued at EUR 115 million (USD 135 million). Most of the imported volume to the EU and the U.K. market comprises frozen products, headed and gutted or fillets.
Although the Netherlands is ranked as the EU’s second largest importer of haddock, it is not just a consumer market, but also a large trading hub for haddock, commonly re-exporting a large share of the imported volume to the United Kingdom as well as to France. This is mostly a “clean” re-export, but also processed volume – whole to fillets, highlighted EUMOFA.
The main suppliers of haddock to the EU are Norway, Russia and Iceland, accounting for 42 percent, 22 percent and 20 percent of the total import value in 2016 respectively.
Volumes from Norway are mainly headed and gutted products, both frozen and fresh, whereas most products from Russia and Iceland are frozen fillets.
