SCOTTISH salmon is making waves overseas, with international sales reaching a record high.
New figures from HMRC show that international sales of the fish hit £844 million, jumping by 45% in a year to defend its spot as the UK’s top food export. Ahead of Cheddar cheese, lamb and beef.
The new total smashed the previous record of £618 million set in 2019.
Reacting, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “These exceptional figures clearly demonstrate the surging global demand for Scottish salmon, which is rightly recognised as a premium high-quality product.
She added: “The farmed salmon sector is very important to our economy, providing well paid, high skilled jobs in Scotland’s rural and island communities.
Asian markets scale highly in the list of salmon fans, seeing a growth increase of 60 per cent, particularly China and Taiwan.
Scottish Salmon are typically cultivated off the northwest Highlands, Argyll and Bute, the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland. Exports were sent to 48 countries in 2024.
Scottish salmon is the largest export by volume that goes through Heathrow Airport, where it travels on scheduled flights to multiple international destinations and maintains its freshness.
France remains front of the line, accounting for 55 per cent of total value of all Scottish salmon exports, followed by the United States (27 per cent).
The new figures come after survival rates on salmon farms in Scotland – where fish spent up to two years at sea – reached a four-year high of 82.3 per cent in 2024 following multi-million pound tech investments to enhance animal welfare.
This improvement in survival has led to more food being available to export to meet international demand.
The sector directly employs around 2500 people in coastal communities, with the supply chain adding another 10,000 jobs – generating hundreds of millions of pounds for the Scottish and UK economies.
