Innovation activity and export performance: Evidence from the European aquaculture sector

This paper employs a novel database of aquaculture-related patent applications to investigate the relationship between innovation activity and export performance in the European aquaculture sector, distinguishing between export value, quantity and unit value margins. Combining patent data with UN Comtrade data for 2012–2024, we find that an increase in the domestic patent stock is associated with higher export value and quantity. This pattern is consistent with biological and technological innovations that reduce marginal production costs and support scale in production and trade. Furthermore, we document significant heterogeneity across exporting countries’ production profiles. The positive associations are primarily observed for salmon exports from major salmon-producing countries. In contrast, we find no significant association between domestic patent stocks and exports of salmon products from non-salmon-producing countries. For trout-producing countries, higher patent stocks are associated with lower unit values but not with higher export volumes. In the European Union context, structural constraints related to regulation and limited expansion opportunities appear to restrict the translation of innovation into export growth. The results highlight how the relationship between technological progress and trade performance in a primary commodity industry is concentrated among established, dominant market players, with limited spillovers to smaller producers or niche products.