New study: Large trout in the EU

The study analyses large trout production and market trends at the EU level, focusing on the price structure along the supply chain in Spain and Italy.

In 2020, the world trout production was at 981.239 tonnes, according to FAO estimates: it increased by 21% between 2011 and 2020. 99% of the trout production comes from aquaculture and it mainly consists of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), which accounts for 98% of the total. At EU level, the main producers in 2020 were France, Italy and Denmark: these Member States together account for 54% of the EU production. It is worth noting that at a global level, the main trout producer was Iran, which accounted for 20% of world production in 2020: that year, together with EU-27 and Türkiye, it accounted for more than half (54%) of the world production.

The study reveals that in Spain, the volume of large trout production is growing (+188% from 2014 to 2020). A large share of the Spanish large trout production is exported to France for the smoking industry, while remaining volumes are sold fresh on the HoReCa sector and to the national smoking industry. In Italy, the production and consumption of large trout are limited, even though production is now growing (about 3.000 tonnes in 2021). Large trout is mainly intended for the smoking or filleting by national stakeholders, it is also marketed to the HoReCa sector.

For more information, please download the study in English: it will soon be available also in French, Spanish and Italian. You may also read the “Species Profile” on rainbow trout, available at this link.