Spanish Raw Tuna Imports Show No Reduction In Productionff
5 April 2004
Spain
Tuna landings in Spanish ports have been quite stable in the past years.
The import data on the entrance of raw tuna to the Spanish canneries also confirms that there is no reduction in the production of canned tuna in Spain, as a result of out-sourcing loining activities to S-America.
According to sources from A Pobra, reefer carriers landed more than 200,000 tons of tuna last year, similar quantity to the 2002 landings. This commercial activity is one of the most important for the ports of Barbanza and Vilagarcia, which has slowly been growing year by year because many shipping companies diverted the vessels towards Barbanza because of the its lower port taxes, compared to other harbors. Currently, the docks of A Pobra anb Ribeira are mostly always occupied by tuna reefer carriers for the tuna canneries in the region.
The Xunta of Galicia has developed a project to enlarge the dockage area of the Ribeira harbor, which is scheduled to start later this year. Most of the frozen fish comes from the Indian Ocean and is destined for the local canneries, although supply also goes to canneries located in the province of A Coruña and Pontevedra.
In 2003, A Pobra landed 111,400 tons of tuna of tuna, while in Ribeira 92,000. This represents an increase compared to 2002, although the figures are still very similar to those of the previous year, i.e. 110,000 tons of tuna landings in A Pobra and 90,000 in Santa Uxia.
If the reports are correct and the ports of A Pobra and Ribeira have maintained the same level of tuna landings during this last year, it’s rather difficult to believe that the activities at the local canneries have declined, as some workers unions are arguing.
On the other hand, it’s probably true that, if the canning gross production would remain in Galicia, there would be changes in the job availability. Local Spanish canneries could most probably be forced to shut down due to the impossibility to compete in a global market. In the global canned tuna market Spain has to compete with countries with cheap labor.
