US seafood imports break record in 2022

In 2022, the US imported 3,362,079 tons of seafood worth $30.4 billion, up 2% in volume and 7% more in value than in 2021. Both figures were record highs for the country, which is one of the world's two largest seafood importers. The other is China, which is a major re-exporter. By contrast, in 2022, the US exported 1,195,949 tons of seafood worth $5.2 billion, down 7% in volume and 3% in value from a year earlier. In 2022, the value of US seafood exports has fallen to the equivalent of just 17% of the value of the country's seafood imports, the lowest percentage in at least 12 years. However, Linda Lai Cornish, founder and CEO of the Seafood Nutrition Partnership, a group that aims to promote seafood consumption in the US, sees the numbers as positive. She credits the pandemic with helping Americans rekindle their love for seafood as they learned how to cook and got to know it. "Because Americans value local seafood more, it makes sense that the US is retaining more of its ...