The UK’s seafood trade has surged beyond £6bn despite supply pressures and uncertain market conditions, according to Seafish’s Seafood Trade 2025 report.
The organisation said the total trade value of the UK’s seafood industry increased to £6.1bn in 2025, a 4.5% rise year on year, driven by international demand, market diversification and consumer demand.
Import values climbed 6.1% to their highest level on record (£4.1bn), driven by higher cod and haddock prices, while export values increased 1.3% to £2bn thanks to elevated mackerel prices, scallops, and surging octopus sales.
British octopus sales boomed by 7,705%, from £164k to £12.8m, on the back of sudden population growth in south west England and demand in Spain and France.
Despite this, category volume sales flatlined as imports crept up 1.3% to 1.18 million tonnes and exports dipped 2% to 483,000 tonnes. Seafish said this reflected tighter domestic supply and shifting global availability.
The organisation also reported a fall in the UK’s trade with the European Union, while the market share of UK seafood exports to non-EU markets rose to 37.1%.
Seafish said the growth in salmon export value to the US, Canada, and China, alongside rising mackerel exports to China and Vietnam, highlighted the opportunities of global markets for UK seafood businesses.
The EU remained the top export destination for British fish, with value sales of £1.2bn. However, exports to the US, China, Canada and Vietnam all increased, by 17%, 16%, 121% and 34% respectively.
The US market is now worth £370.6m, China worth £131.5m, Canada worth £38.7m and Vietnam worth £32.2m.
Seafish trade analyst Joe Cooper said the figures demonstrated the UK seafood industry’s ability to adapt to new export market opportunities and supply availability.
“One of the clearest trends we’ve seen is the growing importance of international diversification,” he continued. “Strong growth in North America and Asia demonstrates the global demand for high-quality UK seafood products and highlights new opportunities for exporters.
“At the same time, continued consumer demand in the UK and improved access to emerging overseas markets helped to support longer-term resilience across the seafood supply chain.”
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