The overall value of frozen fish exports rose by an average 3.7% for all exporting countries since 2017 when international shipments of frozen fish were valued at $21.6 billion.
From 2020 to 2021, there was a downtick in the value of globally exported frozen fish falling by -10.4%.
The top 5 most valuable exporters of frozen fish are Russia, mainland China, Norway, United States of America, and Chile. Collectively, that cohort of top international suppliers collected 40.3% of the world’s total for exported frozen fish sold during 2021.
Among continents, suppliers in European countries sold the highest dollar value worth of frozen fish exports during 2021 with shipments amounting to $8.5 billion or well over a third (36.6%) of the global total. Close behind in second place were exporters in Asia at 32.5% trailed by Latin America (8.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then North America (9%).
Smaller percentages came from Africa (7.9%) and Oceania (5.3%) led by Micronesia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 0303 for frozen fish excluding fish fillets.
Top 15 Frozen Fish Exporters by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of frozen fish during 2021.
- Russia: US$2.41 billion (9.9% of frozen whole fish exports)
- China: $2.36 billion (9.7%)
- Norway: $1.74 billion (7.1%)
- United States: $1.73 billion (7.1%)
- Chile: $1.6 billion (6.4%)
- Taiwan: $996.6 million (4.1%)
- Spain: $872.2 million (3.6%)
- South Korea: $851.7 million (3.5%)
- Netherlands: $834.4 million (3.4%)
- Denmark: $576.4 million (2.4%)
- Japan: $541.8 million (2.2%)
- Greenland: $521.6 million (2.1%)
- Iceland: $432.7 million (1.8%)
- Indonesia: $432.7 million (1.8%)
- Vietnam: $399.4 million (1.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped about two-thirds (66.9%) of global frozen whole fish exported in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing frozen whole fish exporters since 2020 were: Iceland (up 61.4%), South Korea (up 38.3%), Norway (up 29.5%) and Vietnam (up 23.6%).
Four major suppliers posted year-over-year declines in their exported frozen namely Indonesia (down -18.2%), Japan (down -6.4%), Taiwan (down -0.8%) and mainland China (down -0.6%).
Countries Benefiting from Greatest Surpluses Trading Frozen Fish
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for frozen fish during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s frozen fish exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Norway: US$1.7 billion (net export surplus up 32.2% since 2020)
- Russia: $1.6 billion (down -4.7%)
- Chile: $1.5 billion (up 1.5%)
- United States: $744 million (down -4.2%)
- Taiwan: $714.7 million (down -3%)
- Greenland: $521.5 million (up 9.2%)
- Iceland: $428.5 million (up 65.1%)
- Netherlands: $389.9 million (down -14.7%)
- India: $369.5 million (up 0.4%)
- Faroe Islands: $323.2 million (up 15.7%)
- Indonesia: $282.9 million (down -28.7%)
- Morocco: $281.7 million (up 19%)
- Mauritania: $279.1 million (down -16.3%)
- Myanmar: $273.6 million (up 6.8%)
- Namibia: $269.7 million (up 20.3%)
Norway, Russia and Chile generated the highest surpluses in the international trade of frozen fish. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms those main suppliers’ strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring from Highest Deficits Trading Frozen Fish
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for frozen fish during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s frozen fish import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Japan: -US$2.6 billion (net export deficit up 21.6% since 2020)
- Thailand: -$1.8 billion (up 0.5%)
- China: -$1.1 billion (down -25.7%)
- Nigeria: -$707.6 million (down -15.5%)
- South Korea: -$524.9 million (down -8.4%)
- Ivory Coast: -$521.8 million (down -8%)
- Ukraine: -$417.9 million (up 14.8%)
- Philippines: -$404.6 million (up 107.9%)
- Vietnam: -$366.3 million (down -20.6%)
- Poland: -$344.6 million (up 18.9%)
- Egypt: -$334.3 million (down -31.2%)
- Italy: -$319.1 million (up 14%)
- Portugal: -$199.3 million (down -8.6%)
- Ghana: -$176.5 million (up 23.3%)
- Malaysia: -$176.3 million (up 38%)
Highly populated Japan incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of frozen fish. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights Japan’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for frozen fish-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful consumer demand for fish.
Major Frozen Fish Exporting Companies
Below are some of the world’s largest frozen fish processors and exporters. Show within parenthesis is the country where the conglomerate is headquartered.
- Brig-Star LLC (Russia)
- Chicken of the Sea (United States)
- Dongwon Enterprise Company (South Korea)
- High Liner Foods (Canada)
- Marine Harvest (Norway)
- Nippon Suisan Kaisha aka Nissui (Japan)
- Pescanova, SA (Spain)
- SalMar ASA (Norway)
- Thai Union Group Public Company Limited (Thailand)
- Zoneco Group (China)
According to global trade intelligence firm Zepol, the following companies are also multinational suppliers of frozen fish.
- Asian Seafoods Zhanjiang (China)
- CLP Import Export Frozen Fish (Canada)
- Marine Harvest Chile (Chile)
- Panwin International (China)
- Riverlands (New Zealand)
Searchable List of Frozen Fish Exporting Countries in 2021
The 100 key exporters of frozen whole fish showcased in the automated database below represent 99.4% of globally exported frozen fish during 2021.
| Rank | Exporter | Frozen Fish Exports (US$) | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | China | $2,377,464,000 | -16.6% |
| 2. | Russia | $2,368,699,000 | -5.1% |
| 3. | Chile | $1,530,570,000 | -15.2% |
| 4. | United States | $1,480,334,000 | -21.3% |
| 5. | Norway | $1,340,381,000 | -8.5% |
| 6. | Taiwan | $1,004,552,000 | -15.7% |
| 7. | Netherlands | $835,859,000 | -11% |
| 8. | Spain | $780,431,000 | -6.4% |
| 9. | South Korea | $615,678,000 | -12.6% |
| 10. | Japan | $578,520,000 | +10.8% |
| 11. | Indonesia | $529,046,000 | +23.8% |
| 12. | Denmark | $495,541,000 | 0% |
| 13. | Greenland | $478,017,000 | -9.2% |
| 14. | India | $404,204,000 | -21.6% |
| 15. | Mauritania | $333,679,000 | -15.7% |
| 16. | Vietnam | $323,106,000 | -14.4% |
| 17. | Senegal | $298,576,000 | +13.5% |
| 18. | Canada | $289,867,000 | -6.7% |
| 19. | Faroe Islands | $278,697,000 | -14.5% |
| 20. | Morocco | $272,852,000 | +10.9% |
| 21. | Iceland | $268,042,000 | -27% |
| 22. | Myanmar | $263,462,000 | +50.7% |
| 23. | Namibia | $253,012,000 | -17.8% |
| 24. | New Zealand | $240,977,000 | -12.5% |
| 25. | Portugal | $223,494,000 | -26.2% |
| 26. | Argentina | $184,565,000 | -19.6% |
| 27. | Germany | $182,184,000 | +13.9% |
| 28. | Oman | $178,383,000 | +58% |
| 29. | Ireland | $174,364,000 | +8.9% |
| 30. | Pakistan | $171,361,000 | -48.9% |
| 31. | United Kingdom | $170,472,000 | +5.5% |
| 32. | France | $154,531,000 | -12.3% |
| 33. | Philippines | $151,008,000 | +30.3% |
| 34. | Turkey | $144,018,000 | +18.4% |
| 35. | South Africa | $141,879,000 | +1.9% |
| 36. | Thailand | $129,958,000 | +16.6% |
| 37. | Papua New Guinea | $127,427,000 | -41.7% |
| 38. | Micronesia | $124,287,000 | -5.8% |
| 39. | Vanuatu | $121,829,000 | +15.1% |
| 40. | Malaysia | $117,898,000 | +67.5% |
| 41. | Sweden | $110,679,000 | +32.2% |
| 42. | Australia | $105,355,000 | -20.3% |
| 43. | Peru | $100,792,000 | -3% |
| 44. | Brazil | $99,099,000 | -10.5% |
| 45. | Hong Kong | $92,172,000 | -34.6% |
| 46. | Kiribati | $90,545,000 | +13.6% |
| 47. | Ecuador | $89,898,000 | -9.7% |
| 48. | Nauru | $88,562,000 | +469.9% |
| 49. | Uruguay | $79,196,000 | -22.6% |
| 50. | Mauritius | $75,866,000 | -19.4% |
| 51. | Maldives | $72,074,000 | +15% |
| 52. | Sri Lanka | $66,889,000 | -22.4% |
| 53. | Venezuela | $63,676,000 | +33.4% |
| 54. | Singapore | $63,384,000 | -37.2% |
| 55. | Panama | $62,808,000 | -12.9% |
| 56. | Yemen | $60,787,000 | +52.1% |
| 57. | Marshall Islands | $58,175,000 | -35.8% |
| 58. | Mexico | $52,202,000 | -50.3% |
| 59. | Estonia | $47,733,000 | -7.6% |
| 60. | Guinea | $47,607,000 | -4.8% |
| 61. | Iran | $41,590,000 | +51.9% |
| 62. | Lithuania | $36,460,000 | +6.6% |
| 63. | Bangladesh | $32,947,000 | +7.1% |
| 64. | Poland | $32,773,000 | -15% |
| 65. | Nicaragua | $30,466,000 | +20.2% |
| 66. | Malta | $29,803,000 | -46.9% |
| 67. | Suriname | $29,468,000 | +269.6% |
| 68. | Guyana | $29,005,000 | -23.7% |
| 69. | Latvia | $26,482,000 | +12.4% |
| 70. | Greece | $24,897,000 | +136% |
| 71. | Croatia | $24,772,000 | +11.3% |
| 72. | Falkland Is (Malvinas) | $22,758,000 | -30.8% |
| 73. | Cabo Verde | $20,134,000 | +115.1% |
| 74. | Solomon Islands | $19,265,000 | -49.9% |
| 75. | Cook Islands | $16,665,000 | +27.3% |
| 76. | Seychelles | $15,803,000 | -73.8% |
| 77. | French S./Antarctic Terr. | $15,607,000 | +203.9% |
| 78. | Ivory Coast | $14,451,000 | +176.1% |
| 79. | Trinidad/Tobago | $14,207,000 | +83.1% |
| 80. | Sierra Leone | $13,950,000 | -48.3% |
| 81. | Colombia | $13,754,000 | -42% |
| 82. | United Arab Emirates | $11,890,000 | -70.5% |
| 83. | Finland | $11,660,000 | +28.7% |
| 84. | Tuvalu | $11,137,000 | -4.7% |
| 85. | Italy | $11,076,000 | -31% |
| 86. | Fiji | $10,015,000 | -89.2% |
| 87. | Ghana | $9,646,000 | -72.8% |
| 88. | Gibraltar | $9,529,000 | +86.9% |
| 89. | Guinea-Bissau | $8,688,000 | -75.9% |
| 90. | Belarus | $8,622,000 | +42.4% |
| 91. | Kazakhstan | $8,056,000 | -23.8% |
| 92. | Czech Republic | $7,559,000 | +4.9% |
| 93. | Belgium | $7,132,000 | +6% |
| 94. | El Salvador | $6,523,000 | +63.3% |
| 95. | Br. Indian Ocean Terr. | $6,056,000 | +25.3% |
| 96. | Madagascar | $5,904,000 | -7.9% |
| 97. | Somalia | $5,530,000 | -32.7% |
| 98. | Zambia | $4,125,000 | +21.9% |
| 99. | Liberia | $3,847,000 | +468.2% |
| 100. | Saudi Arabia | $3,798,000 | +71.1% |
Focusing on the top 100 most valuable exporters of frozen fish, the fastest growers from 2020 to 2021 are Curaçao (up 30,314%), Saint Helena (up 6,528%), Seychelles (up 1,706%), Kiribati (up 1,652%), Uganda (up 538.1%), Tanzania (up 406.7%) then Armenia (up 333.3%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the above table’s columns below. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2021 data was unavailable.
Related Read: Top Salmon Exports & Imports by Country
See also Big Export Sales for Frozen Shrimps, China’s Top 10 Exports and Top Water and Ice Exporters
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 11, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 11, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 11, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 11, 2022
UnderCurrentNews, Free sample of world’s top 100 seafood companies report. Accessed on August 11, 2022
Wikipedia, List of seafood companies. Accessed on August 11, 2022
Zepol’s company summary highlights by HTS code. Accessed on August 11, 2022
