Fish market in Barcelona, Spain.
Photo: Adobe Stock.
Higher prices and declining household demand continued to impact seafood markets across the European Union in 2024, according to the newly published 2025 edition of the EU Fish Market report.
The analysis, produced annually by the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture (EUMOFA), sets out the latest trends in seafood consumption, trade and production across the EU.
This year’s edition points to another period in which inflation and reduced purchasing power played a significant role, driving overall spending higher despite Europeans buying less seafood for home preparation, with rising prices pushing total household expenditure on fishery and aquaculture products to €62.8 billion.
Trade flows also changed, with export volumes falling to their lowest level since 2019. For the first time since 2018, the EU’s seafood trade deficit narrowed, although it remained substantial at €21.61 billion.
While households spent more in nominal terms, the report notes that Europeans continued to cut back on fresh fish at home, with purchases falling by 5% in 2024.
The decline was most pronounced in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and Germany, which together account for the bulk of EU seafood consumption.
According to EUMOFA, this ongoing shift reflects a combination of tighter household budgets and evolving food preferences, as well as the cumulative impact of price rises that have exceeded 25% since 2020.
On the trade front, the EU imported 5.9 million tonnes of fishery and aquaculture products in 2024, worth €29.9 billion. Although import volumes increased slightly, their real value decreased by around 1%.
Exports grew slightly to €8.25 billion, but volumes fell to 2.2 million tonnes, continuing a downward trend observed since before the pandemic.
These developments contributed to a slight reduction in the EU’s trade deficit, cutting the gap by 2%. For context, the report highlights that the United States saw its own seafood deficit expand by 5% in 2024, Japan's reduced by 3%.
Meanwhile, trade within the EU remained "signifcant", the report states, although intra-EU exchanges slightly declines, with both volumes and values falling by 1% compared with 2023, reaching 5.8 million tonnes and €31.7 billion respectively.
Salmon and cod continued to dominate the internal EU market, together accounting for nearly 40% of total trade value.
The Netherlands retained its position as the primary distribution hub, serving as a key entry point for imported seafood destined for the wider EU market.
The report also points to a small but notable improvement in the EU’s self-sufficiency rate, which rose to 38.1% in 2023. According to the European Commission, this is the first increase since 2018 and reflects a combination of stable production and reduced consumption.
Apparent consumption fell to 22.89 kg per capita, marking a ten-year low. Wild-caught products accounted for the largest share at 16.35 kg per capita, while consumption of farmed seafood reached 6.53 kg.
Portugal remained the EU’s highest consumer of seafood, at 53.61 kg per person, far above the bloc’s average.
'The EU fish market' is a comprehensive analysis of the EU fisheries and aquaculture industry which has been published every year since 2014.
It is prepared by the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA), a market intelligence service of the European Union developed by the European Commission. EUMOFA works to increase market transparency and efficiency, analyses EU markets dynamics, and supports evidence-based policymaking.