U.S. grocery stores’ fresh and frozen seafood sales continued to decline in May, primarily due to inflation in the category and across the store. However, shelf-stable seafood sales continued to rise, according to new data from IRI and 210 Analytics
Fresh seafood sales dropped 13.2 percent in value to USD 618 million (EUR 593 million), while sales by volume plunged 22 percent compared to May 2021. Frozen seafood sales fell 5.6 percent to USD 643 million (EUR 617 million) in the month, while sales by volume declined 14.6 percent.
The only seafood category that realized a sales gain was shelf-stable seafood, sales of which increased 7.8 percent to USD 251.4 million (EUR 241 million). Sales volumes of ambient seafood rose by 1 percent year-over-year in the month.
The average price for finfish jumped 20 percent year-over-year in May 2022 to USD 9.65 (EUR 9.26) per unit. Frozen seafood prices rose 10.8 percent to US 10.41 (EUR 10) per unit on average, while shelf-stable seafood prices rose 9.4 percent to USD 2.08 (EUR 2.00) per unit on average. Average shellfish prices rose 1 percent to USD 8.45 (EUR 8.11) per unit.
