The overall value of frozen fish exports flatlined via an average 0.7% increase for all exporting countries from 5 years earlier in 2019 when international shipments of frozen fish were valued at $25.1 billion.
From 2022 to 2023, the overall value of globally exported frozen fish fell by -8.9% compared to $27.7 billion.
The top 5 most valuable exporters of frozen fish are Russia, mainland China, Chile, United States of America and Norway. Collectively, that cohort of top international suppliers collected 41.6% of the world’s total for exported frozen fish sold during 2023.
Among continents, suppliers in European countries sold the highest dollar value worth of frozen fish exported during 2023 with shipments amounting to $8.9 billion or well over a third (36.3%) of the global total. In second place were exporters in Asia at 32.8% trailed by those in Latin America (11.3%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then competitors in North America (8%).
Smaller percentages came from sellers in Africa (6.3%), and Oceania (5.3%) led by New Zealand, Micronesia and Vanuatu.
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 2023.
- Russia: US$3 billion (11.7% of frozen whole fish exports)
- mainland China: $2.3 billion (8.9%)
- Chile: $1.9 billion (7.7%)
- United States: $1.7 billion (6.8%)
- Norway: $1.6 billion (6.5%)
- Taiwan: $1 billion (4%)
- Spain: $930.5 million (3.7%)
- South Korea: $872.7 million (3.5%)
- Netherlands: $824.3 million (3.3%)
- India: $710.9 million (2.8%)
- Denmark: $635.8 million (2.5%)
- Greenland: $581.2 million (2.3%)
- Indonesia: $515 million (2%)
- Japan: $435.1 million (1.7%)
- Vietnam: $432.6 million (1.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 69.1% of all frozen whole fish exported in 2023.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of frozen whole fish since 2022 were: Russia (up 60.2%), India (up 49.4%), South Korea (up 35.9%) and Vietnam (up 34.1%).
A trio of major suppliers posted declines in their exported frozen whole fish sales, namely: Japan (down -11.9% from 2022), mainland China (down -4.2%) and Greenland (down -0.5%).
Searchable List of Frozen Fish Exporting Countries in 2023
The 100 key exporters of frozen whole fish showcased in the automated database below represent 99.7% of globally exported frozen fish during 2023.
| Rank | Exporter | Frozen Fish Exports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Russia | $2,950,889,000 | -25.8% |
| 2. | mainland China | $2,256,120,000 | -0.3% |
| 3. | Chile | $1,934,626,000 | -6% |
| 4. | United States | $1,713,829,000 | -15.1% |
| 5. | Norway | $1,633,591,000 | -12.5% |
| 6. | Taiwan | $1,016,517,000 | -9% |
| 7. | Spain | $930,505,000 | +5.8% |
| 8. | South Korea | $872,705,000 | -24.6% |
| 9. | Netherlands | $824,292,000 | -8.5% |
| 10. | India | $710,934,000 | +19.3% |
| 11. | Denmark | $635,756,000 | +4.5% |
| 12. | Greenland | $581,180,000 | +11.5% |
| 13. | Indonesia | $515,010,000 | +13% |
| 14. | Japan | $435,072,000 | -8.9% |
| 15. | Vietnam | $432,617,000 | -9.9% |
| 16. | Türkiye | $396,567,000 | +1.8% |
| 17. | Iceland | $371,358,000 | +2.3% |
| 18. | Morocco | $323,522,000 | -15.4% |
| 19. | Portugal | $310,669,000 | +16.7% |
| 20. | Namibia | $292,241,000 | -10.4% |
| 21. | Mauritania | $273,191,000 | -15.6% |
| 22. | New Zealand | $260,506,000 | +7.8% |
| 23. | Senegal | $259,061,000 | -6.6% |
| 24. | Oman | $232,596,000 | -8.3% |
| 25. | Canada | $213,710,000 | -8.1% |
| 26. | Myanmar | $206,564,000 | -5.6% |
| 27. | United Kingdom | $202,595,000 | +3.2% |
| 28. | Peru | $201,607,000 | +28% |
| 29. | Pakistan | $193,300,000 | +16.3% |
| 30. | Micronesia | $180,294,000 | -5.9% |
| 31. | Nauru | $178,435,000 | +13.4% |
| 32. | Faroe Islands | $173,872,000 | -9.6% |
| 33. | Papua New Guinea | $154,252,000 | +1.4% |
| 34. | Sweden | $145,217,000 | +27.5% |
| 35. | Germany | $138,711,000 | -13.4% |
| 36. | Poland | $127,757,000 | +10.5% |
| 37. | Vanuatu | $124,387,000 | -24.9% |
| 38. | Ireland | $123,620,000 | -28.6% |
| 39. | Australia | $121,115,000 | -7.9% |
| 40. | Brazil | $118,705,000 | -20.1% |
| 41. | Argentina | $106,533,000 | -6.4% |
| 42. | Thailand | $105,519,000 | -11.9% |
| 43. | South Africa | $104,466,000 | -20% |
| 44. | Malaysia | $96,786,000 | -13.4% |
| 45. | France | $94,067,000 | -21.6% |
| 46. | Maldives | $93,583,000 | +3.5% |
| 47. | Ecuador | $91,892,000 | -33.9% |
| 48. | Hong Kong | $90,269,000 | +28.3% |
| 49. | Singapore | $81,358,000 | -2.2% |
| 50. | Uruguay | $77,988,000 | -14.1% |
| 51. | Kiribati | $77,461,000 | -22.2% |
| 52. | Mauritius | $75,998,000 | +10499% |
| 53. | Iran | $75,268,000 | +18.2% |
| 54. | Venezuela | $73,991,000 | -4.1% |
| 55. | Sri Lanka | $68,704,000 | -13.5% |
| 56. | Marshall Islands | $62,863,000 | +3% |
| 57. | Philippines | $61,973,000 | +9.9% |
| 58. | Malta | $55,302,000 | +8.2% |
| 59. | Fiji | $53,574,000 | -32.2% |
| 60. | Tuvalu | $49,970,000 | -17.8% |
| 61. | Mexico | $49,093,000 | -11.6% |
| 62. | Guinea | $44,118,000 | -13.2% |
| 63. | Yemen | $43,907,000 | -33.4% |
| 64. | Nicaragua | $42,296,000 | +9.2% |
| 65. | Falkland Is (Malvinas) | $42,040,000 | +15.2% |
| 66. | Estonia | $41,967,000 | -18.3% |
| 67. | Ghana | $39,369,000 | -19% |
| 68. | Lithuania | $34,594,000 | +24.9% |
| 69. | Croatia | $34,069,000 | +15.7% |
| 70. | Belgium | $28,930,000 | +2.8% |
| 71. | Guyana | $26,568,000 | -49.7% |
| 72. | Bangladesh | $22,352,000 | -20.3% |
| 73. | Solomon Islands | $19,584,000 | +25.8% |
| 74. | Kyrgyzstan | $18,023,000 | +45.2% |
| 75. | Colombia | $16,435,000 | +18.8% |
| 76. | Seychelles | $16,425,000 | +8.9% |
| 77. | Armenia | $15,724,000 | -41.8% |
| 78. | Angola | $15,343,000 | +35581% |
| 79. | Br. Indian Ocean Terr | $14,938,000 | +234.3% |
| 80. | Guinea-Bissau | $14,893,000 | -8.1% |
| 81. | Saint Helena | $14,826,000 | -17.8% |
| 82. | Greece | $14,819,000 | +37.9% |
| 83. | United Arab Emirates | $13,992,000 | -50% |
| 84. | Kazakhstan | $13,365,000 | -24.9% |
| 85. | Austria | $12,774,000 | +12.5% |
| 86. | Italy | $11,865,000 | -2.9% |
| 87. | Finland | $11,857,000 | -20.8% |
| 88. | Panama | $11,452,000 | +40.9% |
| 89. | Cook Islands | $10,085,000 | -3.8% |
| 90. | Sierra Leone | $9,891,000 | -3% |
| 91. | Suriname | $9,120,000 | +7.1% |
| 92. | Ivory Coast | $8,414,000 | +477.1% |
| 93. | Tanzania | $8,097,000 | -2.4% |
| 94. | Guatemala | $7,586,000 | -37.9% |
| 95. | Somalia | $7,467,000 | -0.3% |
| 96. | Samoa | $6,902,000 | -16.5% |
| 97. | Madagascar | $6,038,000 | +69.5% |
| 98. | Zambia | $5,836,000 | +22.2% |
| 99. | Bulgaria | $5,803,000 | +34.1% |
| 100. | Czech Republic | $5,578,000 | -6.5% |
Focusing on the top 100 most valuable exporters of frozen fish, the fastest growers are: Angola (up 35,581% from 2022), Mauritius (up 10,499%), Ivory Coast (up 477.1%), British Indian Ocean Territories (up 234.3%), then Madagascar (up 69.5%).
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 2023 data was unavailable.
Countries Benefiting from Greatest Surpluses Trading Frozen Fish
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for frozen fish during 2023. 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.
- Russia: US$2.3 billion (net export surplus down -31.8% since 2022)
- Chile: $1.9 billion (down -5.6%)
- Norway: $1.5 billion (down -15.1%)
- United States of America: $802.6 million (down -4.1%)
- Taiwan: $730.1 million (down -7.9%)
- India: $684 million (up 21.9%)
- Greenland: $580.1 million (up 11.4%)
- Netherlands: $387.8 million (down -13.4%)
- Iceland: $366 million (up 2%)
- Türkiye: $280.6 million (up 3.9%)
- Namibia: $279.2 million (down -1.8%)
- Mauritania: $273.1 million (down -15.4%)
- Morocco: $260.5 million (down -20.6%)
- Indonesia: $253 million (up 48.5%)
- Spain: $250.9 million (up 209.7%)
Russia, Chile and Norway 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 2023. 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.
- mainland China: -US$2.54 billion (net export deficit down -10.5% since 2022)
- Japan: -$2.3 billion (down -16.8%)
- Thailand: -$1.9 billion (down -9.6%)
- Ivory Coast: -$827.3 million (up 12.6%)
- Nigeria: -$565.2 million (down -16.7%)
- Philippines: -$513.2 million (up 3.2%)
- Vietnam: -$493.9 million (down -7.9%)
- Ukraine: -$384.7 million (up 12.7%)
- South Korea: -$369.6 million (down -12.1%)
- Egypt: -$346.4 million (down -2.3%)
- Italy: -$326.2 million (down -11.3%)
- Poland: -$248.5 million (down -22.4%)
- Portugal: -$221.2 million (up 7.9%)
- Malaysia: -$218.8 million (down -11.1%)
- Cameroon: -$161.1 million (down -11.6%)
Highly populated mainland China and Japan incurred the highest deficits in the international trade of frozen fish. In turn, these negative cashflows highlight both countries’ strong competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signal opportunities for frozen fish-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful consumer demand for frozen 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)
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 September 29, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 29, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 29, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 29, 2024
UnderCurrentNews, Free sample of world’s top 100 seafood companies report. Accessed on September 29, 2024
Wikipedia, List of seafood companies. Accessed on September 29, 2024
Zepol’s company summary highlights by HTS code. Accessed on September 29, 2024