Canada’s Fish and Seafood Trade in 2021: Overview

Economics, Statistics, and Data Governance
Strategic Policy Sector
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
2022

• In 2021 export value in the Canadian seafood sector recovered from the disruptions associated with COVID-19.
• Canada’s fish and seafood exports were worth $8.79B^{Footnote 1} in 2021, a 36 per cent increase over 2020 and an 18 per cent increase over the previous high in 2019.
• Quantity of exports was 613 thousand tonnes, a 8 percent increase from 2020, while average fish and seafood export prices increased 26 per cent over 2020.
• Top destinations were the United States ($6.18B), China ($1.12B) and the EU excluding the UK^{Footnote 2} ($453M), accounting for 88 percent of Canada’s fish and seafood exports by value.

• Top species exported were lobster^{Footnote 4} ($3.26B), crab^{Footnote 5} ($2.18B) and salmon ($1.12B), accounting for 75 percent of total Canadian fish and seafood export value.

• The main exporting provinces were Nova Scotia ($2.48B), New Brunswick ($2.21B), and Newfoundland and Labrador ($1.42B), accounting for 70 percent of Canada’s fish and seafood export value.
• Value of Canada’s fish and seafood imports was $4.61B, a 16 percent increase over the previous year.
• Top suppliers of fish and seafood to Canada were the United States ($1.67B), China ($520M) and Vietnam ($314M), accounting for 54 percent of Canada’s total fish and seafood import value.
• The top species imported were salmon ($925M), shrimp and prawns ($720M) and lobster ($550M), accounting for 48 percent of Canada’s total fish and seafood import value.