‘Massive’ demand for MSC tuna not being met Top tuna execs from around the world are in Thailand’s capital Bangkok for the 13th INFOFISH World Tuna Trade Conference & Exhibition 2014, held from May 21-23 at the Shangri-La Hotel. Renato Curto, chairman of the vertically integrated tuna group Tri Marine International, is chairing the conference and sees three major themes. Sustainability, communication and managing to satisfy the customer at the same time offering with competitive prices are some of the big themes of the event, he said. The theme of the conference is “Working Together Towards A Sustainable Industry”. Undercurrent News is reporting live from the event, so keep clicking back for all our coverage. May 21, 3.45pm: Question marks on effectivness of FAD closure in West Pacific Two speakers on the first day of the conference questioned the adherence to the ban on catching on fish aggregation devices (FAD) in the Western and Central Pacific. The ban, introduced by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), was between July to September last year. After the ban finished, catches leapt up again, suggesting the FADs had been set during the ban, said Maurice Brownjohn, commercial director for the Parties of the Naruha Agreement. Actual incidents of illegal fishing on FADs during the ban were minimal, but setting during the ban was also prohibited, he said. Brownjohn called the increase of capacity in the fishery, where stocks are actually mainly in good shape, more of a technological “leap than a creep”. Glenn Hurry, an Australian scientist who is the executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), said he was seeing much trans-shipping going on during the ban. “When I asked someone from the industry, they told me ‘they must just have mastered fishing on free schools really quickly’,” said Hurry, with more than a hint of skepticism. Brownjohn also put things in perspective on stocks. Despite the massive increase in purse seine effort in the WCPFC region, where 40% of purse seine-caught tuna comes from globally, stocks of both albacore and skipjack are healthy. Bigeye is a bit more under pressure, but still not at maximum sustainable yield. The worry from all is more what the massive increase on capacity will do to tuna prices in the short term and stocks in the longer term. May 21, 3pm: PNA tuna commercial director laments lack of MSC tuna on market Demand for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified, purse seine-caught, tuna is “massive”, said Maurice Brownjohn, commercial director for the Parties of the Nauru Agreement. Brownjohn was speaking on behalf of Transform Aqorau, CEO for the PNA office of the Marshall Islands, who was unable to attend the Tuna 2014 event. He related that Aqorau had been on a recent trip on a seiner and not seen a single free school set, which could then be sold as MSC-certified. The reason for this is a spat involving Henk Brus and his venture Pacifical – via whom the MSC tuna is being sold – and Earth Island Institute (For more on this, click here). Brus alleges Earth Island Institute has conspired to exclude the fish from the market, which the “Dolphin Safe” group, unsurprisingly, disagrees with. Whatever is really the case with Brus and Earth Island Institute, both of whom will speak on Thursday, the demand level for MSC tuna was confirmed by several industry sources to Undercurrent News. Brownjohn also spoke at length on overcapacity and its impact on tuna prices. The dive in tuna prices seen in the last year has been caused by more vessels in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, he said, a point made by several other speakers. “Higher catches should not come with lower prices. This is good for the big tuna brands, as it creates a buyers’ market. But it is not good for the industry as a whole,” he said. Meanwhile, there is a premium to be had for MSC-certified fish that is not being capitalized on. May 21, 2.40pm: Global pole and line demand will increase 85,000t by 2020, says NGO The International Pole and Line Foundation (IPLF) is predicting demand for fish caught by this method will increase by 85,000 metric tons by 2020. The UK-based group claims demand is 60,000t at the moment and will be at 145,000t in 2020, a projected increase of 141.66%. May 21, 2.30pm: ‘Multi-stakeholder’ approach is way forward for tuna, says ISSF’s Jackson There is more and more collaboration between NGOs, science and industry in tuna, which is driving the industry toward becoming more sustainable, said Susan Jackson, president of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). She termed the approach “multi-stakeholder” and said she has heard examples of it throughout the first day at Tuna 2014. First of all, Renato Curto, CEO and president of Tri Marine International, kicked off the morning session by stating the industry needs to work with NGOs, like ISSF does with World Wildlife Fund (WWF). “We should not view NGOs as our enemies, they can be, at least potentially, our best allies,” said Curto. “They are very good at communicating with consumers and they have lots of money for this, which we do not.” He also gave examples of ISSF-led programs where member companies are having scientists on vessels, in order to understand more on the impact of purse seining and fish aggregation device (FAD)-use, as another example of cooperation. Glenn Hurry, an Australian scientist who is the executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), then blasted the expansion of capacity and called for the industry to take more of a role in WCPFC science meetings. All of these examples, said Jackson, are examples of a desire for more “multi-stakeholder” work in tuna. The ISSF was set up in 2009, bringing industry together with scientists and NGOs. There are now 21 companies that are members, which represents 75% of the canned tuna processing capacity in the world. ISSF is working on getting more vessels on its IMO database, as well as researching non-tangling FADs. Its IMO database now has 88% of the world’s large-scale purse seiners on its list. At the end of 2011, it had 12%. May 21, 11.30am: FAO shows fish price instability compared to other commodities Chicken ranks as the most stable in price of major commodity groups, with wild fish the most volatile. The price for skipjack tuna has proved particularly volatile over the last year, declining from $2,400 per metric ton around last April to under half this level now. According to Audum Lem, of the products, trade and marketing branch of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the price for fish will continue to rise, however. “On average, we believe fish prices will increase – not all, but over all, it will rise,” he said. This is for two main reasons, said Lem. “Firstly, there is rising demand in emerging markets. There are also rising prices for fish oil and fishmeal, which is meaning the prices for farmed seafood will rise,” he said. As a result of this demand in emerging markets, the “developing world will not continue to export to the traditional markets of Europe and the US, as before”, said Lem. “There will be an ongoing shift towards selling more domestically and in other developing markets,” he said. May 21, 10.45am: CO-treated tuna ‘blatant consumer fraud’, says Tri Marine CEO Using carbon monoxide to give tuna a red color, widespread in the US market but banned in the European Union, is not something Renato Curto agrees with. The Tri Marine International president and CEO, who is the chairman of the Tuna 2014 conference, did not mince his words on CO-tuna. “Should we use CO to make tuna appear fresher? I, personally, consider this to be blatant consumer fraud,” he said. He came to this point during a keynote speech at the Bangkok conference in which is called for a stop to the growth in tuna capacity worldwide. His speech was also focused on quality, which is why he came to the issue of CO tuna. “Tuna should also not be treated as a commodity. The only driver should not be price. A consumer should open a can of tuna and feel it is worth the price,” he said. “Demand is dropping in major markets. Is this because the quality of the product is limiting demand?” If the tuna sector does not don’t pay attention to these factors, it “will lose market share to other proteins”, said Curto. May 21, 10.30am: Tri Marine CEO, top tuna scientist, call for action on tuna overcapacity Renato Curto, president and CEO of Tri Marine International, issued a rallying call for curbing growing tuna fleet capacity, echoed by a scientist who said the industry is ignoring the problem. Curto, the chairman of the conference, held in Bangkok, Thailand, opened the event with a dynamic keynote speech. “I feel that, in a few years, the number of vessels will have increased beyond the level that is sustainable and the scientists will tell us so, after the fact,” said Curto. May 21, 8.35am: Thai tuna industry organisation says FTA with EU should exclude rule of origin Thai Tuna Industry Association (TTIA) is calling for rules of origin to be excluded from any free trade agreements (FTA) Thailand makes, such as the one in early stages of negotiation with the European Union. TTIA, comprising 16 large tuna processors and exporters, officially launched on May 21 ( see more on this below). In a press release on its official launch, TTIA said it is in support for FTA negotiations to resolve tariff and non-tariff barriers. “TTIA had previously presented our positions on FTAs to the Thai government such the Thai-Australian FTA and the ongoing Thai-EU FTA that the rule of origin must not be applied for any FTAs due to the fact that more than 90% of tuna raw materials processed in Thailand are imported,” said the press statement from TTIA. “Thus, no benefit could be gained for Thailand from entering an FTA with conditions of rule of origin,” said TTIA. At present, the European Union impose one of the world’s most expensive import duty on Thai tuna at 24% in stark contrast to the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States who enjoy 0% tariff. “This disadvantage, along with the rule of origin restriction are two of the key issues that we urge the government to negotiate for tariff reduction in the Thai-EU FTA,” said the press release from TTIA. Spanish canners are lobbying against tuna being included in the FTA. May 21, 8.23am: Thai tuna sector aims for 7% growth Thai Tuna Industry Association (TTIA), comprising 16 large tuna processors and exporters, officially launched on May 21. According to the TTIA, Thailand retained the status of the world’s number one tuna processing and exporting country in 2013 with an overall export revenue of THB 86 billion ($2.64bn). Products under the guidance of TTIA are canned tuna, frozen cooked tuna loin and tuna-derived pet food. “Thailand has been the world’s number one tuna processor and exporter for a few consecutive years now and for 2014 we forecast a growth of 7% on overall tuna product exports – a good reflection of our high capacity and advanced product quality standards that are well trusted by consumers around the world,” said Chanintr Chalisarapong, president of TTIA, at a press conference on the official launch. “At present, Thailand exports tuna products to over 200 countries and territories around the world with an average year-on-year growth of 5-10% for more than a decade,” said Chalisarapong. The two “product champions” are canned tuna and tuna loins with a total combined export of more than 550,832 metric tons, earning more than THB 80.05bn in export revenue in 2013. The largest market for TTIA is the US, accounting for 19% of global market share or THB 15.57bn. “The key reason for this continuous positive growth is because processed tuna products can be readily and conveniently consumed by consumers worldwide, especially in developed countries, thanks to the convenience of purchasing and storing them,” he said. May 21, 7.54am: Skipjack prices on the rise Tuna industry sources say the rising prices for skipjack are set to be a big topic for discussion at this week’s Tuna 2014 conference. Deals have been done at $1,300 per metric ton to medium and small buyers, but there were strong rumors that during the Bangkok conference, there might be higher — $1,350/t – touted, one tuna sector veteran told Undercurrent News. Speaking to Undercurrent the day before the event, on which martial law was declared in Thailand, the CEO of the world’s bigger canner said he hopes for some price consistency, as that is better for all. A skipjack price between $1,500-$2,000/t is good for the entire industry, Thiraphong Chansiri, the CEO of Thai Union Frozen Products, said. “Prices in this range are good for fishing boat owners, consumers and processors,” Chansiri said. Prices for skipjack tuna went to around $2,400/t around April last year, but dropped to $1,150/t in April this year. This was seen as the bottom of the market, with buyers, such as Thai Union, coming back in to buy again. The prices are now on the rise again with, deals done at $1,300/t, according to Undercurrentsources. An analyst covering Thai Union recently gave $1,500/t as a possible average price for 2014. Thai Union saw a drop in sales when the raw material prices rocketed last year, he said. “We are competing with other proteins and when it [the skipjack price] was over $2,000/t consumers shifted to other proteins.” The drop in price has allowed Thai Union, which owns the MW Brands group of tuna brands in Europe and Chicken of the Sea to promote again under its brands and via its private label customers. -Undercurrent News
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 08:58:33 +0000
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