International trade of fisheries commodities
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This dataset presents statistics on world annual international trade of fishery and aquaculture products.

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Click to expand Date last updated
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2022, September

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Data are expressed in US dollars, at current prices.

The annual period used is the calendar year (1 January - 31 December) except for the following countries which report data on a split-year basis as indicated:

AUSTRALIA - Year ending 30 June (up to 2002; from 1998 only imports)

NEW ZEALAND - Year ending 30 June (only 2002)

Where data for split-years are tabulated together with data on a calendar year basis, those for split-years are shown under the calendar years in which the split-years end.

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US Dollar
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Following the UN recommendations, the international merchandise trade statistics record all goods which add to or subtract from the stock of material resources of a country by entering (imports) or leaving (exports) its economic territory.

Two systems of recording trade are in common use, differing mainly in the way warehoused and re-exported goods are recorded: special trade and general trade.

a) Special trade is a system of recording imports for domestic consumption on the one hand and exports of domestic goods on the other. Special imports include goods for domestic consumption and withdrawals from bonded warehouses or free zones for purposes of domestic consumption. Special exports comprise exports of goods wholly or partially produced or manufactured in the country, together with exports of «nationalized goods», but not of goods held in bonded warehouses or free zones.

b) General trade is a system which records total imports and total exports including re-exports. General imports consist of all imports into a country, including goods for domestic consumption and imports into bonded warehouses or free zones. General exports consist of the combined total of national exports and re-exports. Re-exports, in the general trade system, consist of the outward movement of nationalized goods plus goods which, after importation, move outward from bonded warehouses or free zones without having been transformed.

Customs records should be the main source of the data; and the additional sources could be used where customs sources are not available. Goods should be included in statistics at the time when they enter or leave the economic territory of a country. In the case of customs-based data collection systems, the time of recording should be the date of lodgement of the customs declaration.

Export and import data in this dataset relate to general trade for all countries except those named below, which report/have reported on the basis of special trade:

ARGENTINA
AUSTRIA
BELGIUM
BRAZIL
COLOMBIA
COSTA RICA
CZECK REPUBLIC
ESTONIA
FINLAND
FRANCE
GERMANY
GREECE
HUNGARY
ICELAND
ISRAEL
ITALY
LATVIA
LITHUANIA
NETHERLANDS
PERU
POLAND
PORTUGAL
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
SLOVENIA
SPAIN
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
THAILAND
TÜRKIYE

Differences between figures given for total exports and total imports of any one commodity may be due to several factors, e.g. the time lapse between the dispatch of goods from the exporting country and their arrival in the importing country; the use of a different classification of the same product by different countries; or the fact that some countries supply trade data on general trade, while others give data on special trade.

In general export values are f.o.b. (free on board) and import values are c.i.f. (cost, insurance, and freight), but there are few exceptions:

AUSTRALIA -- import and export values are both f.o.b. up to 2018 and in 2020

BRAZIL -- up to 2018 both imports and exports were valued in f.o.b., but since 2020 the imports can be valued in either c.i.f. or f.o.b., while exports are valued in f.o.b.

CANADA -- import and export values are both f.o.b.

ICELAND -- import and export values are both f.o.b in 2012-2018 and in 2020

MEXICO -- import and export values are both f.o.b. in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020

NEW ZEALAND -- from 2019 the valuation for imports was both either c.i.f. or f.o.b.

PHILIPPINES -- import and export values are both f.o.b. from 2019

USA – export values were in f.a.s. (free along side) in 2017, and for 2020 import values were in c.v. (custom import value) and export values were in f.a.s.

The methological manual of reference on international trade statistics is:

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The word "countries" appearing in the text refers to countries, territories and areas without distinction.

The term country or area used covers territories, cities, land areas, as well as provinces, districts, enclaves, exclaves and other parts of territories or combinations of countries or areas such as economic or customs unions.

Country or area names and designations are subject to nationally announced changes. Name changes announced after 31 December 2021 have not necessarily been incorporated in this dataset but will be reflected in future releases.

Click to expand Recommended uses and limitations
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Where necessary, any data published in previous releases of this dataset have been revised.

Where the figures in the current release differ from those previously published, the amended data represent the most recent version.

Some statistics provided to FAO by national offices, in particular those for the last year, are provisional and may be amended in future editions.

International trade of fisheries commoditiesAbstract

This dataset presents statistics on world annual international trade of fishery and aquaculture products.

Contact person/organisation

For any further questions please contact: tad.contact@oecd.org

Direct source

Data are sourced from: FAO. 2022. Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics. Global Fish Trade Statistics 1976-2020 (FishstatJ). In: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division [online]. Rome. Updated 2022.

Final data have been provided to FAO by many national offices; others submitted provisional figures only. Whenever national offices failed to report their annual statistics in time for publication, FAO, in the absence of other information, has generally used as trade estimates the returns of trading partners.

The World Sturgeon Conservation Society (WSCS) provided support on caviar data.

The Marine Ingredients Organization (IFFO) provided support on fishmeal and fish oil data.

FishStatJhttps://www.fao.org/fishery/en/fishstatj
Unit of measure usedUS DollarDate last updated

2022, September

Other data characteristics

Data are expressed in US dollars, at current prices.

The annual period used is the calendar year (1 January - 31 December) except for the following countries which report data on a split-year basis as indicated:

AUSTRALIA - Year ending 30 June (up to 2002; from 1998 only imports)

NEW ZEALAND - Year ending 30 June (only 2002)

Where data for split-years are tabulated together with data on a calendar year basis, those for split-years are shown under the calendar years in which the split-years end.

Statistical population

The statistical population is the set of countries participating in the work of the OECD Committee for Fisheries (COFI), i.e. the OECD members plus some partners economies.

In order to facilitate analysis and comparisons over time, historical data for OECD members have been provided over as long a period as possible, often even before a country became a member of the Organisation.

Information on the membership dates of all OECD countries can be found at OECD Ratification Dates.

OECD Ratification Dateshttp://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/list-oecd-member-countries.htm
Key statistical concept

Following the UN recommendations, the international merchandise trade statistics record all goods which add to or subtract from the stock of material resources of a country by entering (imports) or leaving (exports) its economic territory.

Two systems of recording trade are in common use, differing mainly in the way warehoused and re-exported goods are recorded: special trade and general trade.

a) Special trade is a system of recording imports for domestic consumption on the one hand and exports of domestic goods on the other. Special imports include goods for domestic consumption and withdrawals from bonded warehouses or free zones for purposes of domestic consumption. Special exports comprise exports of goods wholly or partially produced or manufactured in the country, together with exports of «nationalized goods», but not of goods held in bonded warehouses or free zones.

b) General trade is a system which records total imports and total exports including re-exports. General imports consist of all imports into a country, including goods for domestic consumption and imports into bonded warehouses or free zones. General exports consist of the combined total of national exports and re-exports. Re-exports, in the general trade system, consist of the outward movement of nationalized goods plus goods which, after importation, move outward from bonded warehouses or free zones without having been transformed.

Customs records should be the main source of the data; and the additional sources could be used where customs sources are not available. Goods should be included in statistics at the time when they enter or leave the economic territory of a country. In the case of customs-based data collection systems, the time of recording should be the date of lodgement of the customs declaration.

Export and import data in this dataset relate to general trade for all countries except those named below, which report/have reported on the basis of special trade:

ARGENTINA
AUSTRIA
BELGIUM
BRAZIL
COLOMBIA
COSTA RICA
CZECK REPUBLIC
ESTONIA
FINLAND
FRANCE
GERMANY
GREECE
HUNGARY
ICELAND
ISRAEL
ITALY
LATVIA
LITHUANIA
NETHERLANDS
PERU
POLAND
PORTUGAL
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
SLOVENIA
SPAIN
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
THAILAND
TÜRKIYE

Differences between figures given for total exports and total imports of any one commodity may be due to several factors, e.g. the time lapse between the dispatch of goods from the exporting country and their arrival in the importing country; the use of a different classification of the same product by different countries; or the fact that some countries supply trade data on general trade, while others give data on special trade.

In general export values are f.o.b. (free on board) and import values are c.i.f. (cost, insurance, and freight), but there are few exceptions:

AUSTRALIA -- import and export values are both f.o.b. up to 2018 and in 2020

BRAZIL -- up to 2018 both imports and exports were valued in f.o.b., but since 2020 the imports can be valued in either c.i.f. or f.o.b., while exports are valued in f.o.b.

CANADA -- import and export values are both f.o.b.

ICELAND -- import and export values are both f.o.b in 2012-2018 and in 2020

MEXICO -- import and export values are both f.o.b. in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020

NEW ZEALAND -- from 2019 the valuation for imports was both either c.i.f. or f.o.b.

PHILIPPINES -- import and export values are both f.o.b. from 2019

USA – export values were in f.a.s. (free along side) in 2017, and for 2020 import values were in c.v. (custom import value) and export values were in f.a.s.

The methological manual of reference on international trade statistics is:

International Merchandise Trade Statistics, Concepts and Definitions (IMTS, 2010)https://unstats.un.org/unsd/trade/eg-imts/IMTS%202010%20(English).pdf
Classification(s) used

The main classification used is the Harmonized System (HS) 2017.

The commodity categories cover products derived from fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic animals and residues caught for commercial, industrial or subsistence uses, by all types of classes of fishing units operating in inland, fresh and brackish waters, in inshore, offshore or high seas fishing areas. Commodities produced from the raw materials supplied by all kinds of aquaculture are also included.

HS Nomenclature 2017 editionhttp://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/nomenclature/instrument-and-tools/hs-nomenclature-2017-edition/hs-nomenclature-2017-edition.aspx
Recommended uses and limitations

Where necessary, any data published in previous releases of this dataset have been revised.

Where the figures in the current release differ from those previously published, the amended data represent the most recent version.

Some statistics provided to FAO by national offices, in particular those for the last year, are provisional and may be amended in future editions.

Other comments

The word "countries" appearing in the text refers to countries, territories and areas without distinction.

The term country or area used covers territories, cities, land areas, as well as provinces, districts, enclaves, exclaves and other parts of territories or combinations of countries or areas such as economic or customs unions.

Country or area names and designations are subject to nationally announced changes. Name changes announced after 31 December 2021 have not necessarily been incorporated in this dataset but will be reflected in future releases.