The still nascent global seafood sector is highly fragmented across continents and markets, but some companies have emerged as leaders, in one field or across several activities.
It is these companies that Undercurrent News aims to provide an overview of with our latest World’s 100 Largest Seafood Companies 2014 report, by detailing who they are, what they do, while ranking them by the size of their 2013 or latest available turnover figure.
Salmon prices were a major driving force behind this increase — the combined revenues of salmon producers on our report this year are up $2.2bn from our 2012 report, with two new salmon players making it to the ranking.
High shrimp prices also benefited some — Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Products‘ revenue jumped 53%, and Minh Phu Seafood was up 23 places thanks to a 41% revenue increase.
Similarly to last year, the ten largest companies – with revenues of more than $2bn each — accounted for over a third ($35bn) of the total revenues and the 25 largest for over half ($57bn).
As in our 2013 report, Japanese companies comfortably dominate with 26 of the companies listed. The US is next largest (11) and Norway third (9), again fairly stable from last year.
However, there are also several changes from the previous report. Looking at the companies’ movements up and down the ranking from the 2013 report illustrates some of the key events and trends that shaped the seafood industry in the past 12 months.
Take for instance the spectacular drop of Pescanova, which, after a year in bankruptcy, has fallen from eighth largest in our 2013 report to 18th largest, and is likely to drop further as creditors and administrators sell off its assets.
Dutch shrimp processor Heiploeg, which was the 100th company in our ranking last year, also fell into bankruptcy, and is now largely incorporated into Parlevliet and van der Plas.
A third company from last year’s ranking went into receivership: Yihe, a US-based salmon processor. The group no longer features on our report as its revenues are thought to now be below the $300m mark.
Other players, in turn, have been incorporated into bigger ones through acquisitions: Morpol is now part of Marine Harvest; American Pride Seafood is now part of High Liner Foods; Copeinca has been engulfed by Pacific Andes; Norway Pelagic by Austevoll Seafood.
Both Maruha Nichiro and Marubeni have acquired smaller players, while Russian Sea Catching has been growing fast, gobbling up Russian pollock catchers, although not yet big enough to feature in this year’s ranking.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first quarter of 2026, Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached USD 1.069 billion, up 17.5% compared to the same period in 2025. This is a positive result amid an uneven global shrimp market recovery, intensifying competition among major suppliers, and continued volatility in the international trade environment. However, this growth does not reflect a broad-based recovery across the entire sector, but rather is driven mainly by strong performance in a few markets and specific product segments—most notably lobster exports to China.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tuna exports continued to decline in March 2026. Cumulatively, in the first three months of the year, export value reached USD 208 million, down 4% compared to the same period in 2025. The export landscape shows clear divergence across markets: while the U.S. and EU remain challenging, markets such as Russia, the Middle East, Egypt, the Philippines, and Mexico have emerged as growth bright spots.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In Quang Ngai Province, shrimp farming costs are rising sharply due to लगातार increases in feed, fuel, and input material prices, while farm-gate shrimp prices are declining. This has significantly reduced farmers’ profit margins and increased production risks.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tilapia exports are experiencing impressive growth, reflecting expanding global demand as well as the sector’s development potential. However, behind the strong growth figures lie limitations in production capacity and supply chains, highlighting the need for sustainable development in the coming period.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the Middle East in 2025 and early 2026 have shown notable growth. However, escalating geopolitical tensions in the region have increasingly impacted export activities since March. This situation presents a challenge of balancing market expansion opportunities with rising trade risks.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Quang Tri Department of Agriculture and Environment has instructed localities to base their stocking schedules on actual conditions in each farming area, while developing plans, allocating resources, and implementing synchronized measures for disease prevention and disaster risk management in aquaculture production.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first two months of 2026, Vietnam’s exports of fish cakes and surimi exceeded USD 45 million, up 7% compared to the same period in 2025, indicating a positive outlook for this product segment amid recovering demand in many markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) During the week from April 4th to 10th, 2026, Quang Ngai province intensified its monitoring and law enforcement activities with the determination to eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Thanh Hoa’s shrimp sector is undergoing a strong transformation by accelerating the adoption of high technology, helping to improve productivity, increase profits, and meet market demands. The province currently has about 4,100 hectares of shrimp farming, with output continuing to rise despite stable farming area, mainly due to the shift from traditional methods to intensive and super-intensive farming.
(vasep.com.vn) Amid ongoing volatility in global seafood trade, Vietnam’s crab exports have made a fairly positive start to 2026. According to Vietnam Customs statistics, export turnover in the first two months of 2026 reached nearly USD 55 million, up 24% compared to the same period in 2025 and more than 2.2 times higher than in the same period of 2024. This indicates that crab exports are entering 2026 with stronger growth momentum, particularly in Asian markets.
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