Calls for producer organisations to be set up before membership

by Ivan Brincat

The setting up of local producer organisations and which should start functioning before EU membership will ensure – upon accession – that Maltese producers will be able to take advantage of EU funding and expertise.
A report on the impact of EU accession on the local fisheries industry says that the producer organisation will play a very important role once Malta becomes a member of the EU. The organisation will serve as the main vehicle in the marketplace and the principle medium through which EU aid is channelled.
The report also compared prices of local fish species in various neighbouring ports. The small differences between fresh and chilled products, proximity and transport linkages were taken into account.
The analysis suggests that the impact of the liberalisation of the movement of fish into Malta is unlikely to have a significant effect on the income levels of the local fishermen.
The price levels of the predominantly caught species compares favourably with Italian prices. Arbitrage between the Maltese and Italian markets will contribute towards reducing the degree of volatility in local prices for a number of important species such as dolphin fish, pilot fish and amberjeck.
The principle species accounting for the bulk of the wholesale value of local catches are tuna, dolphin fish and swordfish which in total account for some 64.4 per cent. Other species such as shrimps, stone bass and large scorpion fish, though only accounting for 6.4 per cent of the total catch volume, account for a further 15 per cent of the wholesale value.
Local catches have in terms of weight been increasing over the past years. This growth has not been accompanied by an equivalent growth in terms of wholesale value, reflecting a continued fall in the average price of fish.
The report said the overall level of imports over the past five years has registered a continued growth in monetary value rising from Lm0.93 million in 1995 to Lm2.3 million in 1999.
Due to the restrictions on the importation of prized fish, imported species are primarily non-native to the Mediterranean. Despite these restrictions it is estimated that there is illegal importation of prized fish of approximately five per cent of the overall imports by weight. The importation of fish has over the past five years been consistently moving away from the EU member States.
The report states that the total number of people registered as being engaged in fishing was 1,707 of which 321 are considered full timers.
There are no full-time female fishermen and 19 females are engaged in fishing on a part-time basis. 49 vessels are over 15 metres in length and considered as industrial vessels.
The trawlers and the multi-purpose vessels are usually used for long haul fishing trips for tuna and swordfish.
The report adds that tuna has become a major wage earner for local fishermen after tapping into the Japanese market where tuna is considered to be somewhat of a delicacy.
The tapping of the Japanese market started in 1989 and in fact this is evidenced by the huge upsurge in Blue fin tuna landings which rose from 48,669 kilos in 1990 to 268,990 kilos in 1999 amounting to a wholesale value of Lm374,800.
Tuna is the only fish for which there is a price and quantity intervention scheme. The fact that there is intervention on the market is due to two reasons. One is that it is normally difficult to dispose of all the catch on the local market. Moreover, since there exists a demand for the species in foreign markets (especially Japan) it is important that the catch is kept up to standard which means that care must be taken when catching the fish as well as when storing it.
A total of 1,442,778 kgs of fish for a value of Lm1,928,384 was exported during 1999 with fish farm products accounting for 89 per cent of total exports.
Exports are mainly to the EU and have risen over the past 5 years to 91.74 per cent. The major trading partners are Italy and Spain as well as Japan. The EU currently imposes a 15 per cent import levy on fish farmed products, which still hinders fish farms in their bid to export.
The Aquaculture industry accounts for 89 per cent of total exports. The main export markets are Italy and Spain for swordfish, sea bream and sea bass and Japan and South Korea for tuna.
This industry employs around 110 people on a full time basis and another 40 people part time. The main fish reared is Gilthead Bream which accounts for 95 per cent of all output.
This industry is facing increasingly low profit margins due to the oversupply of the international market and the further hindrance of the 15 per cent level currently levied by the EU against Maltese products. Furthermore, direct competitors to the local Aquaculture industry benefit from EU assistance. To protect the private investment made so far, government should negotiate to obtain a pre-accession waiver of the 15 per cent levy, the report states.
The report said that in 1999 a total of 1,033 tonnes of fish were officially sold through the central fish market in Valletta. A significant portion of caught fish is sold directly to catering establishments, which are not registered in these statistics. Industry sources estimate the proportion of unregistered catches to amount to approximately 25 per cent of the officially recorded value.