Seafood market map 2024: where buyers import shrimp, salmon and tilapia
Short answer: on 2024 customs data, frozen shrimp buying is concentrated in the United States, the European Union, China and Japan, supplied mainly by Ecuador, India and Indonesia. The ranking below adds the legal gate each market applies and how confident we are in the evidence — it is a starting point for a sourcing brief, not a forecast.
Prepared by the FishMatch Group editorial team · last reviewed 21 October 2026 · data year 2024 · English only.
How the ranking works
- Trade evidence — 2024 import value for the exact HS code, plus whether the main origins report the market as a top partner. Trade value is a proxy: it is not market size, demand, current prices or proof that any producer can supply.
- Legal gate — the official eligibility step a seller must pass, summarised from the authority's own pages.
- Logistics fit — what the product form implies for transport and timing. This is FishMatch's assessment, not an official requirement.
- Confidence — High: exact code, consistent reports and readable official rules. Medium: exact code but re-export, aggregation or rules not fully read. Low: proxy or partial figures only.
Ranked opportunities
1. Frozen shrimp (HS 030613) — United States
Confidence: High- Trade evidence (2024)
- 2024 imports US$4.67 billion; the largest destination for India (US$1.85 billion) and Indonesia (US$677 million), second for Ecuador (US$1.42 billion).
- Main supply origins
- India, Ecuador, Indonesia
- Legal gate (official)
- No approved-plant list; supplier HACCP verification, FDA Prior Notice and NOAA SIMP records for shrimp. — details
- Logistics fit (FishMatch assessment)
- Frozen product by reefer container; specification, glaze and count basis drive comparability.
Why this confidence: Exact product code, three consistent origin reports and directly readable federal rules.
Sources: WITS / UN Comtrade — 2024 imports, HS 030613 frozen shrimps and prawns, all reporters · WITS / UN Comtrade — India 2024 exports of HS 030613 by partner · WITS / UN Comtrade — Indonesia 2024 exports of HS 030613 by partner · WITS / UN Comtrade — Ecuador 2024 exports of HS 030613 by partner
2. Frozen shrimp (HS 030613) — European Union (Spain, France, Italy)
Confidence: High- Trade evidence (2024)
- 2024 EU imports US$3.48 billion; Spain US$1.16 billion, France US$733 million, Italy US$607 million (inside the EU total). Ecuador shipped US$339 million to Spain.
- Main supply origins
- Ecuador; India (Belgium among its top partners)
- Legal gate (official)
- Origin country and named establishment must be EU-listed; health certificate, CHED-P in TRACES; catch certificate only for wild-caught. — details
- Logistics fit (FishMatch assessment)
- Frozen by reefer container into EU ports; −18 °C storage rule applies throughout.
Why this confidence: Exact code and official EU listing process that a buyer can check before ordering.
Sources: WITS / UN Comtrade — 2024 imports, HS 030613 frozen shrimps and prawns, all reporters · WITS / UN Comtrade — Ecuador 2024 exports of HS 030613 by partner
3. Frozen shrimp (HS 030613) — China
Confidence: Medium- Trade evidence (2024)
- 2024 imports US$4.96 billion — the largest by value; Ecuador shipped US$2.92 billion and India US$740 million.
- Main supply origins
- Ecuador, India
- Legal gate (official)
- Producer registration with GACC (Decree 248) and registration number on inner and outer packaging. — details
- Logistics fit (FishMatch assessment)
- Frozen by reefer container; part of the import is processed and re-exported.
Why this confidence: Largest value, but processing and re-export blur end demand, and the current product-specific certificate could not be read from an official English page.
Sources: WITS / UN Comtrade — 2024 imports, HS 030613 frozen shrimps and prawns, all reporters · WITS / UN Comtrade — Ecuador 2024 exports of HS 030613 by partner · WITS / UN Comtrade — India 2024 exports of HS 030613 by partner
4. Frozen shrimp (HS 030613) — Japan
Confidence: Medium- Trade evidence (2024)
- 2024 imports US$1.32 billion; India US$277 million and Indonesia US$223 million report Japan among their top three partners.
- Main supply origins
- India, Indonesia
- Legal gate (official)
- Importer files a Food Sanitation Act import notification at the quarantine station; inspection decision per consignment. — details
- Logistics fit (FishMatch assessment)
- Frozen by reefer container; confirm residue-testing and labelling expectations with the importer before quoting.
Why this confidence: Exact code; official procedure confirmed, but product-specific certificate needs vary and were not checked per origin.
Sources: WITS / UN Comtrade — 2024 imports, HS 030613 frozen shrimps and prawns, all reporters · WITS / UN Comtrade — India 2024 exports of HS 030613 by partner · WITS / UN Comtrade — Indonesia 2024 exports of HS 030613 by partner
5. Prepared shrimp (HS 160520) — United States, Japan, United Kingdom
Confidence: Medium- Trade evidence (2024)
- 2024 imports: United States US$1.66 billion, Japan US$605 million, United Kingdom US$328 million.
- Main supply origins
- China, Thailand, India, Indonesia (largest 2024 exporters)
- Legal gate (official)
- Destination food rules for finished products (US HACCP and labelling; GB BTOM risk category in IPAFFS). — details
- Logistics fit (FishMatch assessment)
- Frozen or chilled finished product; recipe, coating ratio and label claims add to the specification.
Why this confidence: Exact code, but the category mixes many product types with different specifications.
Sources: WITS / UN Comtrade — 2024 imports, HS 160520 prepared or preserved shrimps and prawns · WITS / UN Comtrade — 2024 exports, HS 160520 prepared or preserved shrimps and prawns
6. Fresh or chilled salmon (HS 030212) — European Union (Poland, France), United States, China
Confidence: Medium- Trade evidence (2024)
- 2024 imports: EU US$7.09 billion (Poland US$1.57 billion), United States US$1.43 billion, China US$1.07 billion.
- Main supply origins
- Norway, Chile, United Kingdom, Canada (Sweden's figure is largely transit)
- Legal gate (official)
- EU establishment listing and health certificate; US HACCP and Prior Notice; China GACC registration. — details
- Logistics fit (FishMatch assessment)
- Fresh product with a short shelf life — truck within Europe and air freight to distant markets; delivery windows are tight.
Why this confidence: Exact code, but transit (Sweden) and processing hubs (Poland) inflate apparent demand; mostly farmed Atlantic salmon, not separated in the code.
Sources: WITS / UN Comtrade — 2024 imports, HS 030212 fresh or chilled Pacific, Atlantic and Danube salmon · WITS / UN Comtrade — 2024 exports, HS 030212 fresh or chilled Pacific, Atlantic and Danube salmon
7. Tilapia (fresh fillets, frozen whole) — United States; West Africa for frozen whole
Confidence: Low- Trade evidence (2024)
- FAO: US fresh fillet imports 18,915 t in 2024 (−17.4%); about 35,000 t of frozen whole tilapia from China to the US; Côte d'Ivoire the largest buyer of Chinese frozen whole tilapia.
- Main supply origins
- Latin America (fresh fillets), China (frozen)
- Legal gate (official)
- US HACCP and Prior Notice; tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese fishery products changed in 2025 — check current rates. — details
- Logistics fit (FishMatch assessment)
- Fresh fillets by air from Latin America; frozen whole by reefer container.
Why this confidence: No tilapia-specific code in the proxy tables used here; FAO figures cover selected flows only and demand fell in 2024.
Sources: FAO GLOBEFISH — Quarterly tilapia analysis, May 2025
Farmed, wild-caught and equipment are different questions
- Farmed vs wild-caught. HS codes do not record production method. Most traded vannamei shrimp is farmed, but Argentine red shrimp is wild-caught, and salmon codes include both. The difference matters legally: the EU catch certificate applies to wild-caught fishery products, not to aquaculture products obtained from fry or larvae.
- Hatchery inputs and feed. Post-larvae, fingerlings, broodstock and feed are farm inputs with their own animal-health and import rules; seafood trade tables say nothing about them. See hatchery and fingerling sourcing and vannamei shrimp feed.
- Farm systems and equipment. Building or expanding ponds, RAS, cages or a processing line is a project purchase, not a commodity import — use the aquaculture project RFQ.
Buyer segments and what they specify
Commercial guidance from FishMatch's sourcing process, not an official requirement.
- Importers and distributors
- Repeat container programs, a fixed specification per lot, destination-eligible plants and complete documents on arrival.
- Processors and re-packers
- Raw material by species, count and form for further processing; yield-relevant specs such as glaze and soak treatment declared up front.
- Retail private label
- Packaging and label artwork in the destination language, retailer-required certification and lot traceability to the pack.
- Foodservice buyers
- Consistent portion or count size, case format and delivery windows matched to menu cycles.
What this map does not show
- Current prices, freight rates, transit times or tariffs.
- Caviar — see the caviar sourcing guide (CITES permits and labels apply to farmed and wild caviar).
- Which specific plants are listed or registered for a destination — check the official lists for each order.
- 2025 or 2026 trade: the latest complete WITS year read here is 2024.
- Markets outside the ranked set, such as South Korea (frozen shrimp imports reported, rules not reviewed here) and the Gulf states (see Saudi Arabia and UAE).
Turn a market into a sourcing brief
Free for buyers with annual or seasonal programs of USD 250,000 or more. Our team reviews each request before any producer is approached; buyers and suppliers do not contact each other directly.
All figures: seafood trade data 2024.