The nutritional value and appeal of white fish to consumers around the world cannot be denied. The most popular white fish in the world include cod, hake, tilapia, Vietnamese pangasius, etc.

China is at the top of the list of the largest whitefish consuming markets. In the past 20 years, since 2004, China has imported a total of 24.6 billion USD of whitefish from the world. Frozen Alaska pollock HS code 030367 has been the most popular product among consumers in this country since 2012.

Previously, from 2004 to 2006, China almost did not import this product, but imported a lot of frozen cod products HS code 030360, with the highest recorded import value of 953 million USD in 2005. From 2007 to now, China has almost not consumed this product from the world.

In addition, frozen haddock with HS code 030372 and frozen hake with HS code 030378 were also imported by China in large quantities since 2004 and maintained imports until 2011. During this period, the highest import value of these products by China was 153 million USD in 2011 and 33 million USD in 2008, respectively.

Since 2012, China has imported a lot of frozen Alaska pollock HS code 030367, frozen cod HS code 030363, frozen pangasius fillets HS code 030462, frozen pangasius HS code 030324, frozen haddock HS code 030364.

After China, the US is the second largest importer of whitefish in the world. In the past 20 years, the US imported more than 24.1 billion USD of whitefish from the world. Frozen cod fillets HS code 030471 are the most popular product among US consumers. However, this product has only been imported by the US since 2012. The largest import value of this product in the US was recorded in 2022 with 610 million USD, an increase of 47% compared to 2021. In 2023, the US imported 475 million USD of frozen cod fillets, a decrease of 22% compared to 2022.

Previously, from 2004 to 2011, fresh/chilled haddock HS code 030262 was the product consumed the most by the US, with the largest import value recorded at 25 million USD in 2009. Since 2012, the US has imported little or almost no more of this product. In addition, the US has also imported a lot of dried cod HS code 030551 since 2004, and has maintained the import until now. 2023 is expected to be the year the US consumes the most of this product with more than 20 million USD.

Spain has been the world's third largest importer of whitefish over the past 20 years, since 2004, with USD 13.2 billion. Since 2022, when the UK implemented Brexit, Spain has been the largest consumer of whitefish in the EU. 2018 saw Spain buy the most whitefish from the world, with USD 973 million. In 2023, Spanish consumers consumed USD 933 million of whitefish, an increase of 8% compared to 2022.

In 2023, frozen hake fillets with HS code 030474 were the most imported product of Spain with USD 297 million. According to the latest statistics from the International Trade Center (ITC), in the first 7 months of 2024, Spain's whitefish imports decreased slightly by 5% compared to the same period last year, with a value of 547 million USD; frozen hake fillet imports HS code 030474 reached 163 million USD, down 10%, accounting for 30% of the proportion; frozen cod fillet reached 122 million USD, up 6%, accounting for 22% of the proportion; fresh or chilled cod HS code 030254 reached 86 million USD, down 2%, accounting for 16% of the proportion; frozen hake reached 37 million USD, up 8%, accounting for 7% of the total value of whitefish imported from the world.

The top 4 countries importing the most whitefish are the UK. Before leaving the EU (Brexit), the UK was the largest consumer of whitefish in the EU. However, after the UK officially left the EU, Spain became the largest importer of whitefish in the European Union continuously from 2020 to 2023. From 2004 to 2023, the UK imported more than 12.8 billion USD of whitefish from the world.

From 2004 to 2011, fresh/chilled haddock HS code 030262 was the most consumed product in the UK, followed by frozen haddock HS code 030372. The largest UK import values ​​for these two products were USD 140 million in 2008 and USD 33 million in 2011 respectively. After 2011, the UK imported little or almost no of these two products from the world, instead importing frozen cod fillets HS code 030471, frozen haddock fillets HS code 030472, frozen Alaska pollock fillets HS code 030475, etc.

Germany is the 5th largest single market for whitefish imports from the world, with more than USD 11 billion in the past 20 years, since 2004. Alaska pollock fillets HS code 030475 is the most popular product among German consumers, with the largest import value recorded at 569 million USD in 2013. This product has been imported a lot by Germany since 2011. Previously, from 2004 - 2011, this country mainly imported dried cod with HS code 030551, fresh/chilled cod with HS code 030250, cod with HS code 030562, fresh/chilled haddock with HS code 030262,... and has maintained imports until now.

White fish is a delicious fish, rich in nutritional value, rich in Omega 3, easy to process, so consumers are increasingly "paying attention" to white fish products, including Vietnamese pangasius. In the past 20 years, since 2004, Vietnamese pangasius has been in the top of the most favorite fish species in China. Other countries mostly consume more cod, Alaska pollock, haddock, ... and these are also the biggest competitors for Vietnamese pangasius. There is still room to exploit markets across the ocean, especially in the current context, when the US has issued a ban on importing aquatic products originating from Russia, including Russian products processed by third parties, or economic difficulties, inflation, etc. Vietnamese enterprises still need to take advantage of every opportunity to boost the export of Vietnamese pangasius products to markets, and proactively develop new products, in addition to the main product of frozen pangasius fillets.

Source: VASEP