According to the data entered in the Commercial Register, there were 77 and 72 companies in Estonia in 2022 and 2023, respectively, whose main business comprised the processing and preservation of fish, crustaceans, and molluscs. Based on the classification given in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC the majority of Estonian fish processing enterprises were small, as their average number of employees was less than 50. Compared to 2022, the number of small enterprises increased in 2023 and the number of micro and medium-sized enterprises decreased.
In 2022, the total sales revenue of the companies whose main business is fish processing amounted to 229.7 million euros, with processing and canning fish, crustaceans, and molluscs accounting for 92% of the revenue, i.e. 212 million euros. In 2023, the total sales revenue of companies increased by 18%, reaching 261.6 million euros, with the processing and preservation of fish, crustaceans and molluscs accounting for 244.6 million euros, or 93%. On average 1,275 people were employed by the companies in 2022, and the number was 6% less in 2023 (1,204).
Processing and canning of fish, crustaceans, and molluscs was an auxiliary activity for 10 companies in 2022 and 17 in 2023. While in 2022 these companies received sales revenue of 251,000 euros in this sector, in 2023 this figure increased to 1.1 million euros. More than half of the companies’ processing facilities were located in Harju and Pärnu counties.
(Source: yearbook Estonian Fishery 2022–2023)
Several fish processing companies have joined the Estonian Fishing Association. The Estonian Fishing Association is a non-profit organization that brings together fish processing companies and their mission is to develop domestic fisheries as an economic sector and increase the competitiveness of fish production in domestic and foreign markets, contributing to the creation of a favorable and balanced business environment in Estonia.
Search of registered and approved food/food contact materials business operators can be conducted in AFB information database.
