European Imports of Prepared or Preserved Tuna Shot Up to $3.6B

IndexBox has just published a new report: 'EU - Tuna (Prepared Or Preserved) - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights'. Here is a summary of the report's key findings.

In 2020, European tuna imports increased by +7.3% y-o-y to $3.6B. The shipments to Spain, Italy, Germany, France and the Netherlands comprised 81% of the total import volume in the EU. In 2020, the average import price remained relatively unchanged against the previous year. Last year, Ecuador, Papua New Guinea, China and the Philippines were the leading tuna suppliers to the EU countries. 

Imports of Prepared or Preserved Tuna in the EU 

In value terms, preserved tuna imports rose by +7.3% y-o-y to $3.6B (IndexBox estimates) in 2020. In 2020, the amount of tuna (prepared or preserved) imported in the EU rose sharply to 686K tonnes, increasing by 5.4% compared with 2019 figures.

The purchases of the five major importers of tuna (prepared or preserved), namely Spain, Italy, Germany, France and the Netherlands, represented more than two-thirds of total import. Portugal (27K tonnes) and Belgium (13K tonnes) followed a long way behind the leaders. Over the last year, the biggest increases were in the Netherlands, while purchases for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, Italy ($803M), Spain ($618M) and France ($551M) constituted the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2020, with a combined 56% share of total imports. These countries were followed by Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Belgium, which together accounted for a further 31%.

The preserved tuna import price in the EU stood at $5,176 per tonne in 2020, with an increase of 1.8% against the previous year. Average prices varied somewhat amongst the major importing countries. In 2020, major importing countries recorded the following prices: in Italy ($6,347 per tonne) and Belgium ($5,617 per tonne), while Germany ($4,514 per tonne) and Spain ($4,514 per tonne) were amongst the lowest. Over the last year, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Italy, while the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Major Suppliers of Prepared or Preserved Tuna to the Largest EU Importing Countries

In 2020, 70% of the tuna volume imported to Spain came from Ecuador (33%), China (27%) and Papua New Guinea (9%). 

Spain ranked first in the top of tuna suppliers to Italy with a 35%-share in total imports, followed by Ecuador (13%) and Indonesia (7.4%). 

Supplies from Spain (26%), Seychelles (19%), Cote d’Ivoire (11%) and the Netherlands (11%) met the bulk of the French imports.

Last year, the Philippines (25%), Papua New Guinea (21%), Ecuador (16%) and the Netherlands (14%) were prime exporters to Germany.

Source: IndexBox Platform