In 2023, the EU’s trade in fishery and aquaculture products – the sum of its imports and exports with third countries – decreased 3% in volume and 4% in value, reaching 8,1 million tonnes with a total value of EUR 38,2 billion. Looking over a longer period, the trade volume hit its lowest level of the past decade in 2023, while in terms of both real and nominal value, it was the second-highest recorded in the 2014-2023 decade under analysis. Despite the decrease, the EU's trade volume remained second only to China. The EU had surpassed China in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic but lost the lead in 2021. By 2023, China had reached a trade volume of 12,1 million tonnes with a value of EUR 41,3 billion.
The EU is a net importer. Its trade deficit in 2023 amounted to EUR 22 billion, an 8% decrease from 2022. While both import and export volumes declined, the improvement in the overall deficit was due to a decrease in import values, alongside a slight increase in export values. In 2023, EU imports amounted to 5,9 million tonnes, worth EUR 30,1 billion, which reflected a 3% decrease in both volume and value from 2022. Conversely, exports totalled 2,2 million tonnes and EUR 8,1 billion, with a 3% decrease in volume but a 1% increase in value.
This section focuses on the fishery and aquaculture trade flows (imports + exports) of the world's top five non-EU traders of fishery and aquaculture products: China, the US, Norway, Japan and Thailand. It ranks the countries by value and compares their trade flows with the EU. Of note: Chapter 4 of this report presents detailed analyses of EU Member States' imports and exports by partner country as well as a focus on the development of main currency exchange rates.
