Larger volumes of cod were imported by the United Kingdom last year as the market sought to keep up with the growing demand for the nation’s favorite whitefish.
According to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) finalized trade statistics, the country imported more than 121,153 metric tons (MT) of cod worth over GBP 493 million (USD 666.6 million, EUR 557.7 million) last year, representing year-on-year increases of 5 percent and 12.1 percent respectively. At the same time, the average price paid for these imports climbed by 6.7 percent to GBP 4.07 (USD 5.50, EUR 4.60) per kg.
Iceland was by far the leading supplier of cod to the U.K. market in 2016, providing more than 34,000 MT of the fish worth almost GBP 182.3 million (USD 246.3 million, EUR 206.1 million), up 9.5 percent and 14.2 percent respectively. The country paid an average GBP 5.36 (USD 7.24, EUR 6.06) per kg for Icelandic cod, an increase of 4.4 percent.
In volume terms, China and Norway followed with 24,349 MT and 14,382 MT, with the respective trades achieving values of GBP 77.3 million (USD 104.4 million, EUR 87.4 million) and GBP 46 million (USD 62.1 million, EUR 52 million).
HMRC’s figures also find that the United Kingdom exported more cod last year than in 2015. In total it shipped 17,188 MT of the fish worth GBP 65.9 million (USD 89 million, EUR 74.5 million), representing increases of 7.4 percent and 11 percent respectively. The average export price of U.K. cod climbed 3.3 percent to GBP 3.43 (USD 4.64, EUR 3.88) per kg.
The main destination market for the fish was Ireland, which imported 4,194 MT worth more than GBP 18.1 million (USD 24.5 million, EUR 20.5 million). France and Germany followed with 2,425 MT and 2,156 MT respectively.
Overall, the U.K. market imported 727,103 MT of seafood species worth close to GBP 3.1 billion (USD 4.2 billion, EUR 3.5 billion) last year, up 6.8 percent and 14.9 percent respectively. The country’s total seafood exports, meanwhile, amounted to 441,044 MT with a value in excess of GBP 1.6 billion (USD 2.2 billion, EUR 1.8 billion), which represented a 0.4 percent decrease in volume but a 22.7 percent increase in value.
