7. Estonia has 40 fishing ports In 1999, 83,000 tonnes of fish were caught in the Baltic Sea <strong>and</strong> 3,900 tonnes were caught in inl<strong>and</strong> water bodies, in addition to this, 37,400 tonnes were caught in deep sea fishing. Estonia has 40 fishing ports; the fishing fleet consists of 258 ships, including 23 in deep sea fishing. According to the data of the Veterinary <strong>and</strong> Food Board, 107 enterprises operate in Estonia in the field of fish processing <strong>and</strong> production of fish meat products. Twenty-seven enterprises <strong>and</strong> 13 cold-storage ships have been approved by the European Union. The fish <strong>industry</strong> employed 4,200 persons in 2001, which accounted for 5% of all people working in the processing <strong>industry</strong>. Of the fish caught <strong>and</strong> fish products made, 90% is exported, including 34% to European Union countries. The main products are canned fish <strong>and</strong> fish preserves. In the first half of 2001, companies belonging to the Estonian Fishing Association produced 33,063.4 tonnes of fish <strong>food</strong> products. Canned fish <strong>and</strong> fish preserves accounted for the majority of these. Smoked sprats in oil <strong>and</strong> fish in tomato sauce were the most common canned fish products (Figure 1). Export <strong>and</strong> import of fish <strong>and</strong> fish products In terms of quantity, the greatest export article is frozen fish, but in monetary terms, canned fish takes first place. Cans are exported mainly to the eastern market <strong>and</strong> CEEC markets. Filleted fish is exported to the western markets (Table 1). There are 25 operating fish farms. At present, 25 professional fish farms whose main income is derived from fish operate in Estonia. Rainbow FIGURE 1. Cans <strong>and</strong> preserves 63% Other products 24% TABLE 2. Production of fish products in 2001 (%) 297 43 340 Fish farming production (t) Species 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Salmon trout Carp Total 278 136 414 278 30 308 194 61 355 227 trout farms take the fist place (12 farms), followed by carp farms, <strong>and</strong> a few farms produce population material for the restoration of fish resources. Three or four crayfish farms being established, <strong>and</strong> there is one eel farm. Besides these numbers, there is a large number (approximately 100) small fish farmers, each of which produces a few hundred kilograms of fish a year. Seven species of fish (salmon, salmon trout, brown trout, whitefish, pike, pike perch, tench) <strong>and</strong> crayfish were bred for the restoration of fish resources, which activity is financed from sums received for the sale of fishing rights (Table 2). 28 255 Filleted fish 5% 285 23 312 Breaded products 4% Surimi products 4% 147 30 177 * Data of Fisheries Department of the Ministry of the Environment 313 47 360 TABLE 1. HS code 0301 0302 0303 0304 0305 0306 0307 1604 1605 Export of fish <strong>and</strong> fish products, exclusive of customs warehouses, <strong>and</strong> import for free circulation on the domestic market in January–June 2001 export import Product group Live fish Cooled fish Frozen fish Fish fillets Dried, salted, <strong>and</strong> smoked fish Crustaceans Molluscs Canned fish Canned crustaceans Unit T T T T T T T T T Quantity 0,1 806,9 37117,9 2651,4 19786,4 186,4 5,4 23306,9 56,0 Amount (EEK '000) 17,2 41387,2 122331,8 247906,1 100174,3 5760,8 128,7 492472,0 7726,2 Unit price (EEK '000) 118587 51289 3296 93501 5063 30905 24020 21130 137861 Quantity 6,6 10154,2 10377,0 2010,9 104,2 255,7 10,7 1066,2 34,0 Amount (EEK '000) 1541,5 74701,2 68298,5 59899,5 4349,1 12273,1 698,3 24127,1 2713,0 Unit price (EEK '000) 232835 7357 6582 29787 41722 47996 65423 22629 79608 Trade Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture 26
8. Food <strong>industry</strong> yields a quarter of the total industrial output The <strong>food</strong> <strong>industry</strong> yields 25% of Estonian industrial output <strong>and</strong> employs nearly 20% of all people working in the processing <strong>industry</strong>. Food <strong>industry</strong> accounts for about 3% of the gross domestic product <strong>and</strong> 5% of total export. 27
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