Scottish salmon exports hit a “record” high in 2024, according to UK government data.
The value of the exports jumped 45% to £844m ($1.05bn) trade data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) showed supplied by trade body Scottish Salmon said.
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The figures indicated that salmon remained the UK’s top food export, surpassing products such as cheddar cheese, lamb and beef.
The increase was driven by strong demand in Asia, particularly China and Taiwan. Export sales to Asia grew by more than 60%, Scottish Salmon said.
Scottish salmon, farmed in waters around the northwest Highlands, Argyll and Bute, the Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland, was exported to 48 countries last year.
The £844m of exports seen in 2024 surpasses the previous record of £618m set in 2019, the trade body said.
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By GlobalDataCountry-wise, France accounted for 55% of the value of the exports and remained the largest market, followed by the US at 27%.
Sales to France reached £462m, up 70%. Exporters shipped £225m of Scottish salmon to the US, some 61% higher than a year earlier.
The report added the growth in exports builds on the rise in fish survival rates on salmon in Scottish farms, which reached 82.3% in 2024, the “highest” level in the last four years.
Commenting on the latest figures, Salmon Scotland trade body chief executive Tavish Scott said: “Producers have also invested hundreds of millions of pounds to further boost already world-leading welfare standards. And, here at home, nutritious salmon is the UK’s most popular fish – helping to improve people’s diets.
He added: “Scotland’s salmon sector is heavily regulated by government – we need better, not less regulation. That is the task for government and if that is delivered that then we can create more jobs and economic growth.”
According to the report, the Scottish salmon industry directly employs approximately 2,500 people in coastal communities, with an additional 10,000 jobs supported in the supply chain.
Scotland Kate Forbes Deputy First Minister said: “These exceptional figures clearly demonstrate the surging global demand for Scottish salmon, which is rightly recognised as a premium high-quality product.
“The farmed salmon sector is very important to our economy, providing well paid, high skilled jobs in Scotland’s rural and island communities.”
