Galician fish exports reached a new sales record last year by invoicing 1,155 million Euros. This represents an 11% higher turnover than in the year 2002, and surpasses the sales volume of 2001 by 60 million Euros. From the 1,155 million Euros, almost 329 million Euros correspond to canned fish.
Imports have also recorded a significant increase. Sources from the sector explained that the main reason for this increase is supply. Most of the fish sold through Galicia is caught in foreign waters; and although Spanish fleet does the catch, it is still registered as import.
This same situation comes about in the canning sector, as more canned product is being purchased from Spanish investments in foreign countries.
Galicia, Spain imports more fish than it exports, the year 2003 reported a balance 317 million Euros in favor of imports.
The Galician fishery industry is a major foreign investor. Although the main destinations for Galician investments go to Namibia, Argentina and Chile, during these past few months, there have been important industrial projects in Central and South America (El Salvador, Guatemala and Brazil).