Despite inflation complaints, consumers have money to spend on seafood, Wells Fargo economist says

U.S. consumers have plenty of money to spend on seafood, despite anecdotal concerns over inflation and higher grocery bills, according to Wells Fargo agricultural economist Michael Swanson.

“People are spending USD 500 billion [EUR 480 billion] on [beef, pork, and chicken]. You don’t think they have another couple hundred billion dollars to spend on seafood if they want to? They absolutely do,” Swanson said at the 2025 Global Seafood Market Conference, which took place 20 to 23 January in Palm Desert, California, U.S.A.

Swanson said that although he was sympathetic to consumers’ complaints that inflation is impacting their ability to buy groceries, the data simply doesn’t back it up. The percentage of their income U.S. consumers are allocating to food is the lowest it’s ever been, he added.