LATVIA
Pandemic boosts demand for Latvian fisheries products
Canning sector sees coronainduced spike in trade As in other countries the pandemic’s impact on the hotel, restaurant, and catering sector was brutal. Producers of canned fish products, an important part of the Latvian processing industry, however experienced an uptick in demand as consumers took to stockpiling shelf stable goods and those with long expiry dates in the early days of the virus’ spread.
T
he canning sector forms an important part of the Latvian fish processing sector with a tradition that goes back over a century. Today there are a handful of large companies that are the main producers and exporters of canned products down from some 20 firms a couple of decades ago. These companies belong to the Union of Latvian Fish Processing Industry, an association that decides the criteria behind the label Riga sprats in oil, which the companies use to market their canned sprats. The raw material for this well-known product, exports of which go around the world, comes from the Baltic Sea. The canning industry faced a crisis in 2015 when Russia embargoed canned products from Latvia. Since Russia was the single most important market for several producers this development contributed to the restructuring and consolidation among canned fish producers. Since then canneries
have expanded their export markets mainly to the EU, but also to other countries such as Canada, Japan, and the US. Processing facilities are certified to EU standards, but also to other international standards such as International Featured Standards (IFS), British Retail Consortium (BRC), or GOST (for Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries). Cans account for only part of the output from the processing sector, other products include smoked, salted, and preserved fish. According to the 2019 STECF report on the EU fish processing sector, Latvian processors are active importers and exporters of fish and seafood. Data from the Central Statistics Bureau of Latvia show that exports of processed fish products increased steadily in value from 2016 to reach EUR93m in 2019, a growth of 42 over the period, while volumes increased by 17.On the other hand, the export value of fresh, chilled or frozen fish declined
11 to EUR73m. Raw materials, other than those available from Latvia’s Baltic Sea catches, are supplied by other countries. Imports of chilled or frozen fish between 2016 and 2019 increased 2 in value to EUR128m, while the volume actually fell 4 to 64,000 tonnes. The main trading partners for supply of
raw material are Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland.
Covid-19 induced restrictions spur demand for canned products The canning industry has been one of the few sectors to benefit from
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Using the GGN label printed on the product packaging, consumers can learn more about the farms that have produced the GLOBALG.A.P. certified products at www.ggn.org – the portal for certified aquaculture. For more information, visit www.ggn.org.
Latvian import and export of fish products, million euro 2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Fish products, including canned fish export
174
192
206
226
212
Fish products, including canned fish import
145
170
166
169
176
CONTACT
Latvian fish products trade balance
29
22
40
57
35
info@ggn.org T +49221 5777 76-0
Source: Ministry of Agriculture
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07/10/20 8:24 PM