Summary
This report is an update of the first EUMOFA report on the caviar market from 2018. In the previous edition, the latest updated data on production referred to 2016 while this report contains data for 2018. In addition, it should be remarked that since 2018 EUMOFA has expanded the scope of its international trade database, which now covers trade flows of fishery and aquaculture products between almost 100 countries. Consequently, this report provides more analyses of other regions compared to the previous report.
Caviar is roe from sturgeons. Historically, sturgeons were harvested in the Caspian Sea and their roe sold as caviar, mainly by Russia and Iran. Overfishing of sturgeons has led to the near-extinction of several of the species. Globally, the largest capture was recorded in 1977 at 31.800 tonnes. The first FAO recorded harvest from aquaculture was in 1984 at 150 tonnes. Since then, the rearing of sturgeons gradually increased until the beginning of the 2000s, when it started increasing rapidly year by year. In 2018, the global aquaculture production of sturgeons was about 115.168 tonnes. Subsequently, nearly all caviars on the market today are harvested from farmed sturgeon.
According to the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP), EU Member States produced 164 tonnes of caviar in 2018, an increase of 12% from 145,8 tonnes in 2017. The largest producers were Italy, France, Poland, and Germany, accounting for 84% of the total production in 2018. The global production of caviar in 2018 has been estimated as 380 tonnes.
According to EUROSTAT-COMEXT data, the intra-EU trade of caviar increased from 37,4 tonnes in 2014 to 61,6 tonnes in 2018, before decreasing over the following two years, ending at 48,4 tonnes in 2020. In addition, extra-EU imports doubled from 25 tonnes in 2014 to 54,5 tonnes in 2019 but decreased by 16% to 45,7 tonnes in 2020. The main supplier of caviar to the EU market is China by a large margin, responsible for between 65% and 84% of extra-EU imports over the past five years.
The EU is also an important supplier of caviar globally. According to EUROSTAT-COMEXT data, 43,7 tonnes of caviar were exported outside the EU in 2014. By 2019, the extra-EU export volume had increased by 55% to 67,5 tonnes. With the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the export volume decreased by 27% to 49,2 tonnes.
Compared to intra-EU trade, exporting Member States achieve higher prices when exporting outside the EU, although price fluctuate significantly. The yearly weighted average extra-EU export prices over the past seven years have been between 422 EUR/kg and 538 EUR/kg, on average 17% higher than the intra-EU export prices and 54% higher than the extra-EU import prices. Although the long-term trend is negative, prices have shown signs of recovery since 2018.
According to EUMOFA estimates, the total EU apparent consumption of caviar 2018 was between 121 tonnes and 126 tonnes depending on the source. of extra-EU trade Compared to similar calculations for 2016, EU production of caviar have increased by 30% while apparent consumption in the EU have increased by 20%. France is the largest consumer market for caviar in the EU, followed by Germany and Spain. Other main caviar consuming countries are the USA, Japan, Russia, and China as well as Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Australia.