SPAIN
Canned tuna producers on the EU market must be subject to the same rules
Spanish Traceability Observatory demands level playing field The trade liberalisation undertaken by the European Union in the last years has allowed preferential access to the EU market for major competitors of the European canning industry, whose share of the EU market has been increasing.
T
he Traceability Observatory, a Spanish advocacy group established by the Foundation of the Seafood Processing Cluster, strongly believes that all the stakeholders should play by the same rules, and therefore it is essential to ensure a verification process and to strictly enforce Community legislation for canned tuna products sold in the EU market. The observatory supports the existence of a true “level playing field” as well as the development of a European canned tuna industry that is competitive and that contributes to employment in Europe.
Imports of canned tuna exceed domestic production in Europe The observatory thus has a clear mission focused on promoting fair competition in the EU market and the sustainability of fishery products and marine resources. The European tuna processing industry is strategically important for the supply of the European Union market itself, playing a key role in the social and economic development, the maintenance and even in the creation of jobs, growth and added value in coastal areas in countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and France. The EU market is the world’s biggest seafood market 40
Eurofish Magazine 6 / 2016
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and canned tuna is one of the most sought after products by European consumers. Community production of processed tuna has been affected in recent years by the significant increase in imports from third countries that account for close to 60 of the canned tuna traded on the community market. The European Union has an annual consumption of 722,231 tonnes of canned tuna, according to the latest figures (2014). Taking into account that 341,415 tonnes are produced in the EU and extra-European Union exports amounted to 22,161 tons, extraEuropean Union imports exceed European Union production reaching 402,977 tonnes and confirming a clear upward trend.
Fair competition and sustainability must underpin the canned tuna market To this end, it is essential to ensure fair competition within the EU market, and this implies that all operators, from the EU and from third countries, abide by similar rules relating to traceability, health and hygiene, food safety and employment, bearing in mind the framework established by the international conventions relating to occupational health and safety, the environment, a sustainable fisheries and respect for resources,
The Spanish Traceability Observatory feels strongly that if imported canned tuna complied with EU standards in all respects, the European sector would continue to contribute to employment.
traceability or labelling, among other. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that all processed tuna marketed in the EU complies with EU regulations by means of effective control mechanisms. These would be supported by a digital system based on an EU database to improve the Council Regulation (EC) Nº 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The EU illegal fishing regulation is an innovative and pioneering legal tool that has placed the European Union at the forefront of global efforts to address illegal, unreported and unregulated
fishing. To effectively check compliance with IUU regulations new surveillance measures are necessary to monitor imports to ensure that any canned tuna traded in the EU it has not been processed using raw material from IUU fishing. The observatory is convinced that a true level playing field in the processed tuna market in Europe would have a positive effect on competition in the European processed sector and, as a result, on the creation of jobs in this industry in the EU, thus enabling the development of a competitive and viable community sector in the long term. www.eurofishmagazine.com
28/11/16 11:12 PM