State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2004 - Library

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The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2004
of these projects have often been unsatisfactory, largely because of inadequate
importer–customer relationships, little or no advantage in terms of quality and price,
and the failure of products to meet the needs of consumers – shortcomings resulting
from inadequate market research. Experience has shown that the key to success lies in
strong customer partnerships, sound market research, excellent quality of the product,
reliability in supply, a constant drive for improvement, price competitiveness and
attractive packaging.
In addition to value-addition and third-country processing in developing countries,
other major issues concerning international trade in fish products that have been
prominent in recent years include changes in quality and safety control measures in
the main importing countries; the introduction of new labelling requirements and
the concept of traceability in major markets in developed countries; chemical residues
in aquaculture products; the general public’s concern about overexploitation of
certain fish stocks, especially groundfish; the sustainable development of aquaculture,
including its future feed requirements; IUU fishing; international trade negotiations
in the WTO; the expansion of regional trade areas and the increasing number of new
bilateral trade agreements. With the entry of China into the WTO in 2001, all major
fishery countries other than the Russian Federation and Viet Nam (which have started
negotiations to become members) are now members of the organization. Parallel
to the increase in the WTO’s membership, a number of bilateral trade agreements
with strong relevance to fish trade have been signed. The full impact and long-term
effects of these agreements, in addition to or as a substitute for broader multilateral
agreements, remain to be seen.
Salmon
2003 was a positive year for salmon producers and traders worldwide. Increased prices
particularly benefited European producers in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Chile
and Norway enjoy a comparatively lower cost structure and can operate profitably at
lower price levels. They were therefore profitable in earlier years when the European
industry generally was experiencing heavy losses. Chile, however, was to some extent
hurt by a weaker dollar in the United States, which is the major market for its fresh
products.
Tuna
Japan is the top world market for sashimi-grade tuna. However, as in the case of
shrimp, demand has declined in recent years or shifted to lower-priced species.