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Final <strong>Report</strong>
RoO Derogation under the PACP-IEPA
6.2 EU Market for Pre-cooked Frozen Tuna Loins
Tuna ‘loins’ are the butchered and cleaned meat of the fish. Loining is the most labour intensive
process in the processing node of the value chain in canned tuna, constituting around 80% of the
labour process in a canned tuna factory. ‘Loining plants’ are based in relatively low-cost locations of
production in the international division of labour and export pre-cooked, frozen vacuum packed
loins to factories in higher-cost locations, such as Spain, where they are defrosted and inserted into
the canned tuna production process. Figure 6.1 sketches a generic value chain in canned tuna. EU
trade preferences are critical to the logic of loining (i.e. they enter duty free under (Interim) EPAs
with the ACP and under the GSP+ scheme). The EU loin market will continue as long as EU-based
canneries are protected by a 24% MFN duty. In addition, in the face of competition from imported
canned tuna, EU-based processors may need to rely more heavily on imported loins in order to limit
costs and remain competitive.
Figure 6.1 Schematic value chain in canned tuna
In contrast to the EU market for imported canned tuna, the volume of loin imports continued to
grow in 2009 with a slight 7% drop-off in 2010 (Figure 6.2). In the ten-year period 2001-10, the
volume of the EU imported loin market doubled, while in value terms it grew by two and a half
times. The proportionally higher growth in value over volume reflects the very low prices of raw
material in 1999 and through the early 2000s. (See Section 6.7.4 below for a discussion of the impact
of the derogation on PNG’s share of the EU import market for tuna loins.)
Spain is the largest importer of loins, followed by Italy. France is in decline and Portugal has only
ever been a relatively minor market. This is because Spain is the largest producer of canned tuna in
the EU by a very large margin (see discussion and data in Section 6.3.1 on intra-EU production and
trade). However, unlike France and Italy which rely predominantly on imported loins, Spain still uses
whole round tuna as its main source of tuna raw material supply. 251
251 Campling et al. 2007: 317-18.
Linpico s.a.r.l. Page 125