Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1542182
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 DECEMBER 2025 NEWS Japan's tuna imports expose Malta's outsized role in global seafood trade MALTA'S tuna fattening indus- try has an outsized influence on global seafood markets. In 2024, a reduction in Japan's spending on tuna imports from Malta con- tributed directly to a 5% fall in the total value of all fish and seafood imported by Japan worldwide. The data is drawn from The EU Fish Market (2025 edition), re- cently published by the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EU- MOFA), the European Commis- sion's official market intelligence tool. The report states that in 2024 Ja- pan imported 2.3 million tonnes of fishery and aquaculture products worth €12.2 billion. This included a 1% increase in volume but a 5% decrease in value compared with 2023. "A drop in the values of import- ed salmon roe products from Rus- sia and the US, and of tuna from Malta and Thailand, caused the overall decrease in the value of im- ports," the report states. The report notes that Malta's seafood industry is heavily de- pendent on a specific niche—the fattening of high-value bluefin tuna. Over the decade leading up to 2023, this specialisation drove massive expansion, causing blue- fin tuna's share in total EU fish farming to grow significantly. Over this period, the volume of bluefin tuna produced in Malta soared by 242%, while the value increased by 77%. By 2023, this specific product reached 18,624 tonnes, valued at €167 million. However, the market shows ma- jor instability. While the total vol- ume of fish farmed in Malta rose by 15% in 2023, reaching 21,000 tonnes, the total revenue of the entire fish farming sector simulta- neously dropped dramatically by 38% compared with 2022, total- ling €199 million. Trade and domestic consumption Malta's international trade al- so reflects its unique position. Although the volume of seafood exported outside the EU dropped significantly by 21% in 2024, the revenue from these exports re- mained almost the same, decreas- ing by only 0.3% to €170.3 million. Estimating domestic fish con- sumption is more complicated. Although figures suggest a high level of fish consumption per person (between 30 and 40 kg annually), this number is dif- ficult to determine accurately because two factors skew the data. These include tourism, which heavily influences total fish consumption, and the fact that a significant portion of im- ported frozen fish is not eaten by people but used directly as feed for the bluefin tuna indus- try. In terms of household spend- ing, the amount spent per person on fish and seafood in- creased by 7% in 2024, reach- ing €157 per capita per year. However, the overall share of household spending dedicated to buying fish fell sharply by 11% in 2024. Early information from 2025 suggests a modest recovery in consumer spend- ing, with an increase of about 5%. JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Since 2014, Malta's bluefin tuna production has soared by 242%, giving Malta an outsized inf luence on global markets, even as the sector remains highly volatile Blue fin tuna fished in the Mediterranean by Maltese ranchers is highly prized in Japan, making it a key export of the Maltese economy (File photo) Foreign Minister Ian Borg at a Japanese fish market during an official visit to Japan in 2022 (Photo: DOI)