21/07/2016: EUMOFA news: bluefin tuna market in the EU

Bluefin tuna: 40 percent fishing quota increase sees parallel decrease in first-sale prices     

• Bluefin fishing quota increases 40 percent in two years: The quota for this year’s season – 26 May to 24 June – was 20 percent higher than 2015 and 40 percent higher than 2014. Most European vessels had fished their quotas by early June.  Spain, France and Italy, with 85 percent of the EU’s quota, reaped the greatest benefit of the increase.
• Increased volume leads to decline in first-sales prices: In Spain, sales of fresh Atlantic bluefin tuna increased almost ten-fold – from 20 tonnes last year to more than 180 tonnes this year – with a corresponding 20 percent drop in price.
  In France, as the volume of bluefin tuna sold tripled, prices declined by 10 percent.
  In addition, consumers on EU’s Mediterranean coast are seemingly increasing their consumption of fresh bluefin. 
• Aquaculture interest grows as wild fishery yields decrease: The high market value of bluefin tuna, combined with stagnation in wild fishery yield and issues with stocks, have increased interest in aquaculture. Malta, Spain and Croatia, with the largest bluefin aquaculture facilities, accounted for more than 95 percent of volume of bluefin exported from the EU in 2015. Exports have increased more than 50 percent since 2010 – increases that are expected to continue.         

Wild fishery yields are decreasing (Image: Tchami)

Consumer habits change in Spain
Household consumption of fishery and aquaculture products in Spain dropped 5 percent between 2010 and 2015, while consumption of canned seafood increased continuously. Household consumption in 2015 was 25,9 kg/capita, while total consumption (which includes both home and out-of-home consumption) is around 46 kg/per capita. The average price of fishery and aquaculture products has increased 2,7 percent since 2014, while consumers’ per capita spending increased 0,8 percent, reaching EUR 201 in 2015.
   
Greece’s hake value increases 32 percent, Denmark’s Crangon shrimp value increases 170 percent
In Greece, first-sales value and volume increased 7 percent and 15 percent respectively from 2015, due to positive trends for anchovy, hake, red mullet and sardine. In this period, hake’s first-sales value of EUR 2 million and volume of 309 tonnes represented increases of 32 percent and 74 percent, respectively.

   
In Denmark, the accumulated first-sales value of all reported species increased 16 percent in value but decreased 19 percent in volume compared with the same period last year. However, the average unit price of all landings increased 44 percent, reaching 1,62 EUR/kg, due to increases in average unit prices of several species, including: Norway  lobster, 20 percent; plaice 21 percent; sole 18 percent; and Crangon shrimp 170 percent.
   
Fueling the fishery: marine fuel prices remain steady
Marine fuel prices in the UK, Italy, France and Spain remained relatively close, ranging only between 0.42 and 0.43 EUR/litre.

    

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