6,5% Volume Increase In Canned Productionff

The Galician seafood processing sector increased the volume of its production last year by 6.5% compared to 2004. The value experienced an 8% rise. These increases are slightly higher than the figures obtained by the entire Spanish cannery sector, which were 6,4% and 7,6% respectively said Juan Manuel Vieites, the secretary general of the National Association of Seafood and Fish Manufacturers (ANFACO), during a recent press conference.

Mr. Vieites also indicted that Galicia’s production value totaled EUR 967 million, while that of Spain reached EUR 1,239 million.

The canned food handled in Galicia during 2005 reached 248,958 tons and in Spain 311,197 tons. These figures show that about 80% of the national processing industry is contributed by Galicia.

According to information reported by ANFACO’s, the canning exports from Galicia increased by 2.63% from 2005 to 2004; more than Euro 292 million. In Spain, exports increased by 3.53%, about Euro 398 million. As for the export volume, Galicia contributed 94,285 tons, and Spain, 114,135 tons.

Throughout 2005, 86% of the European Union (EU) exports are originating from Spain, while 54% of the imports arriving to Spanish soil come from America.

Exactly 65% of the canned tuna that is commercialized in the EU is manufactured in Galicia.

On the other hand, Mr. Vieites indicated that the fierce competence posed by Southeast Asian countries has caused the Spanish sector to bet on “quality, healthy products, international growth, and environment protection.” The canning sector expects to “keep on modernizing and being more dynamic” in order to maintain the offer of quality and food safety products and achieving more competitiveness.

In Galicia there are 67 companies involved in the canning sector that are currently operating, these are at the same time included among the 147 companies located in Spain; 12,050 Galician people work in this sector, and in the country itself the canning jobs are a total of 15,517 working places.

Mr. Vieites assured that the annual canned food consumption in Spain is 5.6 kilos per capita and also added that ANFACO goals for 2006 are to consolidate the low-salted products, as well as the Omega-3-enriched products. He said that although “we can improve 2005 figures,” they were satisfied with the effort made, “which increasingly tends towards efficiency.”