The UK’s seafood landscape has changed dramatically and became a lot more challenging in the four years that followed 2019, but 2024 has brought some green shoots of recovery, according to Seafish CEO Marcus Coleman.
Speaking at the 2024 Responsible Seafood Summit, held in St Andrews Scotland, Coleman said the combined value of UK seafood imports and exports fell by more than GBP 1 billion since the start of this decade – from GBP 6.45 billion in 2019 to GBP 5.28 billion in 2024.
In his presentation called “Choppy Waters: How the UK Seafood Industry is Navigating Post Brexit Trade”, he explained that in 2019, alongside the trade’s peak value, consumer confidence was strong, and the economy was in growth, although there were concerns about the potential effects of Brexit.
“It’s clear that what happened between 2019 and today created a challenging landscape for seafood trade,” he said. “There is a challenging story to tell. And the big question on my mind is will there be a billion-pound bounce back to the UK seafood industry?”
With regards to what caused the value loss, Coleman said that first, the 2020 pandemic disrupted supply chains and slowed down logistics with lockdowns leading to lower volumes of seafood being caught, processed and traded in the UK and internationally. December 2020 also marked the end of the transition period when the UK left the single market and customs union, with some seafood businesses responding by stockpiling raw materials.
This, Coleman explained, created barriers to trading with the EU in the form of paperwork and border checks. Shellfish exports to the EU were the most impacted, with annual value falling by 27% or GBP 152.1 million compared to pre-2020 figures.
Since then, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to higher energy prices with Western countries, including the UK, also imposing economic sanctions on Russia, including a 35% tariff on whitefish consigned from the country.
The seafood industry has been further impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and disruption to trade routes due to the war in Gaza further impacted the seafood industry with cod, tuna, Alaska pollock and mackerel suffering the most serious declines in import value.
However, Coleman said indications from the start of 2024 show consumer confidence is beginning to return with recorded export value growth at 7.9% on the previous 12 months. Seafood imports also remain steady, including 20,000 tonnes more of cheaper whitefish alternatives to cod such pangasius, hake and tilapia.
“The first-half of 2024 shows a little bit of growth. Export value volumes are moving in the right direction. It seems that because of the difficulties in importing from the EU, we’re starting to source materials elsewhere in the world.”
He told the conference the initial increases in export and import volumes and value since the start of 2024 are reason for optimism, but that for thebounce back, there also needs to be increases in the retail and foodservice sectors.
“What is pleasing is that the industry is working as hard as ever on getting itself in the best possible positions to take advantage when markets do clear, when geopolitical risks subside.”
