Smoked salmon in the EU : price structure in the supply chain : focus on France, Germany, and Poland : case study

Global Atlantic salmon production reached 2,9 million tonnes in 2022, a 37% increase from 2013, with aquaculture dominating and wild catches accounting for less than 0,1%. Norway is the largest producer, contributing to 54% of the world's salmon production, followed by Chile (26%) and the UK (6%). The EU's production is minimal, with Ireland as the main EU producer. The EU is one of the main markets for salmon worldwide and has a significant processing industry for smoking salmon. The apparent consumption for salmon at the EU-27 level was estimated at tonnes live weight equivalent (LWE) in 2022 and the apparent consumption of smoked salmon was 139.384 tonnes. Poland, France and Lithuania are the top EU processing countries. France led smoked salmon consumption at 28% of the EU market, followed by Germany (18%) and Italy (16%). Given the limited salmon production in the EU, the EU smoking industry relies entirely on imports. Norway is the leading supplier of salmon to the EU, accounting for 83% of extra-EU imports in 2023. Sweden and Denmark play key roles as trade hubs, importing fresh salmon from Norway and re-exporting it to major EU markets such as Poland, Germany, and France. The UK was the second-largest supplier to the EU, providing 5% of imports, followed by the Faroe Islands (4%) and Iceland (2%). This study focuses on three Member States (MS) among the largest markets of smoked salmon in the EU: France, Germany and Poland.