ANFACO's Juan Manuel Vieites affirmed the volume and value of exported Galician products fell 10 and 14 per cent, respectively. (Photo: ANFACO)

Canned product exports fall

SPAIN
Wednesday, February 03, 2010, 23:40 (GMT + 9)

Overseas canned-product shipments originating in Galicia fell in volume and value between January and November 2009, in comparison to those of the same period of 2008, reveals the National Association of Fish and Shellfish Canners (ANFACO).

According to data furnished by the Secretary General of ANFACO, Juan Manuel Vieites, 97,245 tonnes of Galician canned products were exported through November 2009, that is, 10.5 per cent less than during the same period the previous year.

The value of those shipments fell 14 per cent, to EUR 331 million.

ANFACO attributes these reductions to the fall in demand of canned products in the European Union (EU), a market that absorbs 84 per cent of overseas sales and 40 per cent of production.

Internal sales, however, remained stable in 2009.

In the first 11 months of last year, Galician canned products sales within Spain increased by 0.2 per cent in value, reaching EUR 1.1 billion, and grew 2.2 per cent in volume, to 305,328 tonnes.

The data was submitted to Councillor of Marine Affairs Rosa Quintana and her team during a meeting held in Santiago, La Opinion reports.

Galicia contributes 86 per cent of Spanish cannery production, with an 84 per cent share in value. Galician canned fish products represent 74 per cent of the value of the total exports of these products and 83 per cent of their total volume.

Vieites emphasised the importance that this sector has for the national economy, since it contributes 2.8 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Galicia and generates 5 per cent of the employment, up to 11,950 direct jobs in 67 operating companies.

The Secretary General of the Association described the reduction of exports as “worrisome” and said that to confront the problem, ANFACO and the Xunta de Galicia analysed the possibility of launching campaigns to promote canned products consumption.

ANFACO also petitioned Galician authorities about the entry into use of the Strategic Canned Products Plan 2007/13, following “three years in which nothing has advanced.”

That initiative anticipates investments of around EUR 300 million in the sector.

By Analia Murias
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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