In the 12 months to December 2023, 609,567 tonnes of seafood were imported in to the UK with the Humber now the leading centre for these imports.
Historically, the transportation of seafood, particularly salmon from Norway, has been dominated by southern UK ports such as Dover. This is changing according to new figures from UK port authority, Associated British Ports.
The Humber ports, notably Immingham, are now emerging as the new primary entry point for these fish in the UK.
This shift is largely driven by the proximity of the Humber ports to Grimsby, the UK’s leading salmon processing hub.
Simon Dwyer, representing Seafood Grimsby & Humber Alliance and Grimsby Fish Merchants Association and for many years an advocate of using ports close to the UK’s leading seafood processing cluster, said:
“There’s been a step change in the routing of seafood into the UK especially salmon from Norway that now arrives in trucks from Scandinavia into Immingham port rather than being transported by road via southern ports of for example, Dover.”
When seafood, such as salmon, is bought on a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) basis, Dwyer told SalmonBusiness, the responsibility for transporting the goods, handling all necessary paperwork, and clearing customs falls on the seller rather than the buyer.
This means that the seller chooses the most efficient and cost-effective route for importing the goods into the UK.
Given the increased complexity of paperwork and border checks that have been introduced over the past year, sellers have been re-evaluating their logistics strategies.
This has led to a preference for routing shipments through ports that offer smoother and more efficient customs processes, which, in this case, have been found at the Humber ports, suggests the exec.
Immingham, being closest to Grimsby—a major hub for salmon processing—provides a more direct and less cumbersome route for these imports, reducing potential delays and logistical challenges associated with stricter border checks.
The new numbers reveal that the Humber ports, including Immingham, Grimsby, and Hull, now handle 41.6% of the UK’s fish imports, marking a 10.5% growth year-on-year.
The colocation of these ports with major seafood processing centers, such as Grimsby, has created an efficient and sector-leading hub, supporting 5,500 jobs and processing around 70% of the UK’s seafood.
Norway is the largest exporter of seafood to the UK. In 2023, the UK recorded £688 million of salmon imports into the UK, 64% of which was of Norwegian origin, up from 59% in 2022.
