EU pollock ATQ quota utilization hits record low, market still heavily dependent on Russian raw materials

The European industry organization AIPCE-CEP has reported a significant underutilization of the ATQ quota for pollock products in 2024, with only 17% used in the first half of the year. This is largely due to the EU's exclusion of Russian seafood and the stockpiling of large amounts of seafood at the end of the previous year. The total EU supply in 2023 was approximately 841,000 tons, with 41% coming from China and 35% from Russia. The United States Cod fillet exports also saw a significant decrease, indicating falling pollock sales and prices. Despite lower import volumes, the Netherlands has higher imports, with most of the pollock shipped to the German market, which has more volatile demand. The EU fish processing industry remains heavily reliant on Russian raw materials, with expectations to receive 34% of all whitefish supplies in 2023 from Russia.

According to the latest EU Seafood Supply Synopsis by the European industry organization AIPCE-CEP, the ATQ quota for pollock products in 2024 is 340,000 tons, but the utilization rate in the first half of the year was only 17%. There are two main reasons. One is that the EU began to exclude Russian seafood from ATQ this year and cover third-country processed products; the other is that the EU market had a large amount of stockpiling at the end of last year, resulting in a decline in imports in the first half of the year. AIPCE-CEP pointed out that 95% of the raw materials for pollock fillets imported from China come from Russia. The 2024 pollock quota is about 3.6 million tons, of which 2.3 million tons are held by Russia and 1.3 million tons are held by the United States. The total EU supply in 2023 is about 841,000 tons, of which the amount in December is as high as 70,000-75,000 tons. Among the pollock products imported by the EU in 2023, 41% are from China, 35% are from ...