Source: El Comercio
The weather and low temperatures are causing Ecuadorian tuna producers to struggle as they see their production levels drop. This is reflected in sales volumes to the international market.
Between January and May of 2010, export value has declined compared to previous year, according to a Bank report Central del Ecuador (BCE).
The products affected are: tuna, processed tuna, bananas, fish, fishmeal, etc. But although sales volumes declined, revenue grew, as prices increased on international markets and this improved the trade balance.
In the first five months the production of tuna has dropped the most. During this period of 2010, Ecuador caught 15% less than last year. Roberto Aguirre, president of NIRSA, said the catch reduction is due to the phenomenon of El Niño, however the tuna industry did not suffer from this thanks to the high prices which are being paid in the market. “Before this, a ton of tuna was quoted at USD 500, but the growing scarcity of fish prices rose to USD 1800. This is the result of a decline in catches of all fishermen in the world,†he said.
The records of the Inter-American Tuna Commission (IATTC) indicate that between January and May catches of skipjack, bigeye and yellowfin reached only 203 939 tons, which are the most wanted tuna by the tuna canneries. However, the catches reached during these same months of 2009 were 239 044 tons. Aguirre expects that catches will recover and return to adequate levels in the coming months.
As a result of this situation most canneries in Ecuador have made important cuts in their production capacity. Several have shut down waiting for fish, others are working at 25% or less of their normal capacity.