Value ( million) Rate of Exchange (USD against GBP) ORNAMENTAL AQUATIC TRADE ASSOCIATION LTD. "The Voice of the Ornamental Fish Industry" 1 st Floor Office Suite, Wessex House 4 Station Road, Westbury, Wiltshire United Kingdom BA13 3JN T: +44 ()1373 31353 F: +44 ()1373 31236 info@ornamentalfish.org www.ornamentalfish.org UK Trade Statistics 217 June 218 1. Total Import Values The value of imports for 217 experienced a decrease of 2.9 % compared to the previous year, totalling 16.5 million compared to 17. million in 216 (Figure 1). Total import value data for 25 217 is summarised in Table 1. 25 2.5 2 2 15 1.5 1 1 5.5 25 26 27 28 29 21 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 Year Value ( million) Exchange Rate Figure 1. Value of ornamental fish imports into the UK ( million) and Rate of Exchange (USD against GBP) for the years of 25 217. The Rate of Exchange is based on each year s average exchange rate (25 to 217). Source: Bank of England http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/iadb/rates.asp?into=gbp&rateview=a 25 26 27 28 29 21 211 212 213 214 215 216 Value 16.5 16.8 16.9 18.3 19.1 18.2 18.6 17. 17.2 16.5 15.9 17. 217 Value 16.5 Table 1. Total annual value ( million) of ornamental fish imports into the UK (25 217) However, in light of the Brexit vote in June 216, it should be noted that the value of ornamental fish imports may be a reflection of the fluctuations in the exchange rate post-brexit (see Figure 2) rather than being related to volumes of trade or the price of fish. In relation to the average annual exchange rate from the Bank of England of the Pound ( ) against US Dollars, the exchange rate is the lowest that has occurred since 25. 1
GBP RATE OF EXCHANGE Value and Volume of Fish Imports into the UK: 217 USD Euro 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.8.6.4.2 Y E A R A V E R A G E 2 1 5 A V. 2 1 6 A V. 2 1 7 Figure 2. Annual Average Rate of Exchange (USD (red) and Euro (blue) against GBP) pre- and post- Brexit vote 215 to 217. The Rate of Exchange shown above is based on the annual average exchange rate (215 to 217). Source: Bank of England http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/iadb/rates.asp?into=gbp&rateview=a 2. Freight Weight Due to fluctuations in currency rates of exchange and changes in the price of fish or freight, import values are not considered a reliable indicator of the total number of fish imported into the UK. Assuming that packaging conditions (materials used, volume of water and approximate number of specimens per container) remain fairly constant, freight weight might be a better indicator of total number of fish imported. Total Freight Weight During 217 there was a 13.4% decrease in the total freight weight of ornamental fish imported relative to 216. This represents 1,179 metric tonnes for 217 compared to 1,362 metric tonnes in 215. This follows a continuing trend in a decrease of total freight weight and is the lowest value in the last 16 years and is 48% less in relation to the total freight weight in 25 when total imports reached their highest value of 2,271 metric tonnes (see Figure 3). 2
Total Freight Weight (metric tonnes) Number of UK Importers Value and Volume of Fish Imports into the UK: 217 25 2 15 1 5 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 199 1995 2 25 21 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 Total Freight Weight (metric tonnes) Number of UK Importers Figure 3. Total freight weight (tonnes) of ornamental fish imports into the UK and number of importers for 199-217 Freshwater vs Marine Freight Weight and Value For 217, freshwater imports again accounted for 75% of the total freight weight imported into the UK and 81% of the value. Whilst this trend continues to remain fairly constant as per the last few years, longer term comparisons show the continued constant proportion of marine imports, which back in the 199s were only 1% of the total freight weight imported but which now account for 25%. However, 217 saw a greater reduction in freight weight than 216, with a percentage decrease of 12% for freshwater imports and 16% in marine imports, compared to 216 (Figure 4). Table 2 and Figure 4 present data on freight weight and value of imports for selected years between 199 and 217. Figure 5 presents data in metric tonnes of freshwater fish imported by month in 217. It is interesting to note that imports in 25 experienced additional peaks in the summer and in the month of November, relative to 215 to 217 where there is a peak in imports at the beginning of spring. It should be noted that in relation to the 217 data, the data for February 217 was provisional (as provided by HMRC). 3
Freight Weight (metric tonnes) Weight (metric tonnes) Value and Volume of Fish Imports into the UK: 217 Table 2. Changes in proportions of freshwater and marine fish imports by freight weight and value 1 Year Total freight weight (tonnes) Freshwater as proportion of total freight weight (%) Marine proportion of total freight weight (%) Freshwater as proportion of total value (%) Marine as proportion of total value (%) 1991 1,238 88.6 11.4 91.9 8.1 1995 1,132 91.3 8.7 94.1 5.9 2 1,536 9.1 9.9 92.7 7.3 25 2,271 83.7 16.3 88.1 11.9 21 1,779 78.1 21.9 83.2 16.8 214 1,61 76.4 23.6 8.6 19.4 215 1,393 74.9 25.1 79.1 2.9 216 1,361 74.3 25.7 79.6 2.4 217 1,179 75.2 24.8 81.2 18.8 25 2 15 1 5 1991 1995 2 25 21 214 215 216 217 Freshwater Marine Figure 4. Changes in freight weight of freshwater and marine fish imports between 1991 and 217 25 2 15 1 5 Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 217 216 215 214 21 25 Figure 5. Freight weight (metric tonnes) of freshwater fish imported by month 1 Refer to Table 1 for total annual value ( million) of ornamental fish imports into the UK (25 217) 4
Value and Volume of Fish Imports into the UK: 217 3. Top sources of UK ornamental fish imports In 217, the UK imported ornamental fish from a total of 37 countries outside the European Union. Of these, the top 1 countries are responsible for 86.9% of the value of all ornamental fish imports into the UK, compared to 86.1% in 216 (Figure 6). Top 1 countries of origin relative to previous years are listed in Table 3. Figure 6. Top 1 countries of origin of ornamental fish as a percentage of the total value of imports to the UK for 217. The Top 5 countries accounted for 7.6% of the total value whilst the next 5 countries in the Top 1 accounted for 16.3% Table 3. Top 1 countries of origin of ornamental fish imports into the UK by year Rank 217 216 215 214 213 212 1st Singapore Singapore Singapore Singapore Singapore Singapore 2nd Israel Israel Israel Israel Israel Israel 3rd Japan Japan Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia 4th Indonesia Sri Lanka Japan Japan Japan Japan 5th Thailand Indonesia U.S.A. Thailand Thailand Thailand 6th Sri Lanka Thailand Thailand U.S.A. Sri Lanka Sri Lanka 7th U.S.A. U.S.A. Sri Lanka Sri Lanka U.S.A. U.S.A. 8th Philippines Philippines Philippines Philippines China & Hong China & Hong Kong Kong 9th Maldives Maldives Maldives Maldives Maldives Malaysia 1th Colombia Colombia Colombia Kenya Malaysia Maldives With regards to imports of freshwater fish, during 217 the UK imported from 24 different countries outside the EU. The top 5 countries of origin account for nearly 82% of the total value for freshwater fish imports. Similarly, during 217, the UK imported marine fish from 2 different countries. The top 5 countries of origin account for just over 74% of the total value of marine imports. The top 5 countries of origin for both freshwater and marine fish remain unchanged from 216. Table 4 lists the top 5 countries of origin for freshwater and marine fish for 217 by value. Table 5 lists all countries of origin for both freshwater and marine ornamental imports. 5
Value and Volume of Fish Imports into the UK: 217 In relation to imports from the EU, during 217, the UK imported ornamental fish from a total of 6 European countries (Finland, France, Germany, Irish Republic, Netherlands and Portugal). With respect to freshwater fish, the UK imported a value of 74,86 from the EU, with the majority (87.5%) from the Irish Republic. For marine fish, the UK imported a value of 22,869 from the EU, with the majority (78.3%) from the Netherlands. Table 4. Top 5 countries of origin for freshwater and marine ornamental fish imports into the UK in 217 Rank Freshwater exporters Marine exporters 1 st Singapore Indonesia 2 nd Israel United States of America 3 rd Japan Philippines 4 th Indonesia Maldives 5 th Thailand Kenya Figure 7: Map indicating countries of origin (both non-eu and intra-eu) for all freshwater and marine ornamental fish imports into the UK during 217. Key to map: Red marker = Freshwater (Non EU); Blue marker = Freshwater & Marine (Non EU); Green marker = Marine (Non EU); Yellow marker = Freshwater (Intra EU); Purple marker = Freshwater & Marine (Intra EU) and Pale Blue marker = Marine (Intra EU). 6
Value and Volume of Fish Imports into the UK: 217 Table 5. Countries of origin for all freshwater and marine ornamental fish imports into the UK during 216 COUNTRY FRESHWATER MARINE Australia Belize Brazil China Colombia Congo Dem. Rep. (Zaire) Congo Republic Djibouti Dominican Republic Egypt Fiji Hong Kong India Indonesia Israel Japan Kenya Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives New Caledonia Nicaragua Nigeria Paraguay Peru Philippines Singapore Sri Lanka Taiwan Tanzania Thailand U.S.A. Vanuatu Vietnam Intra-EU Finland France Germany Irish Republic Netherlands Portugal 7
Value ( per Kg) Exchange Rate (USD against GBP) Value and Volume of Fish Imports into the UK: 217 4. Value per Kilogram of ornamental fish imports The graph below illustrates the direct link between the value (cost) of fish arriving in the UK and the strength of Pound Sterling. A weakening Pound Sterling means that anything paid for in US Dollars usually costs more. 16 2.5 14 12 2 1 1.5 8 6 4 2 25 26 27 28 29 21 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 Freshwater Marine FW + Marine Exchange Rate 1.5 Figure 8. Value per kilo (Kg) of freshwater and marine fish freight from 25 to 217 5. Main ports for ornamental fish imports Heathrow remains the main airport for imports. Table 6 shows the percentage of total freight weight through Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick airports in 21, 215, 216 and 217. Figure 9 shows total freight in tonnes through each of these ports for 24 and 217. Other ports of entry into the UK were Belfast and Edinburgh airports, which received a combined total of.4 tonnes of freshwater fish. In relation to imports to the UK from the EU, the ports of entry are unknown. The reason for this is that UK Customs do not collect UK port of entry data for goods which are dispatched from within the EU. Table 6. % of total freight weight of ornamental fish imports received through different airports in 21, 215, 216 and 217. 21 215 216 217 London Heathrow 68% 78% 8% 8% Manchester 28% 18% 18% 17% Gatwick 3% 3% 2% 2% 8
Total Freight Weight (metric tonnes) Value and Volume of Fish Imports into the UK: 217 16 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 24 214 215 216 217 UK Airport Heathrow Manchester Gatwick Figure 9. Total freight weight of ornamental fish received by Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick airports in the UK between 24 and 217 9