While the volume of seafood sold in U.K. retail has decreased over the past year, shoppers have been buying more whitefish, with sales of national favorite cod leading the market defying charge.
For the 12 months ending 15 July 2017, the total volume of seafood sold in the retail channel amounted to just over 324,500 metric tons (MT), a decrease of 1.1 percent year-on-year, while the number of unit sales fell by 0.9 percent to 1.2 billion, according to the latest Nielsen ScanTrack data published by Seafish.
In terms of value, these sales amounted to almost GBP 3.2 billion (USD 4.2 billion, EUR 3.5 billion), which was up 3 percent compared with the previous 12 months – accounted for by a 4.1 percent increase in the average price paid for seafood, which amounted to GBP 9.85 (USD 12.85, EUR 10.90) per kg.
Total cod sales over the period increased 3.7 percent in volume to 48,366 MT, achieving a value of almost GBP 392.3 million (USD 512 million, EUR 434 million) – an increase of 4.6 percent.
The number of cod unit sales, meanwhile, increased by 2.3 percent to 137.7 million, and the average price paid by consumers increased by 0.9 percent year-on-year to GBP 8.11 (USD 10.58, EUR 8.97) per kg.
In terms of product formats, frozen cod sales totaled GBP 209.6 million (USD 273.5 million, EUR 231.9 million), climbing 5.5 percent year-on-year. The lead performer in this category was frozen cod fingers, with sales up 13 percent in the 12-month period to total GBP 63.2 million (USD 82.5 million, EUR 69.9 million).
Chilled cod followed with a value of GBP 182.2 million (USD 237.8 million, EUR 201.6 million), up 3.6 percent. There was also an 31.7 percent rise in the much smaller ambient cod format, with sales totaling GBP 437,000 (USD 570,255, EUR 483,501).
