The European Union and Thailand are in talks to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) that could enable the duty-free passage of Thai tuna, among other products, into the E.U. market.
If the FTA goes through, it would cause immediate damage to Europe’s tuna fleets and increase the likelihood of consumers being exposed to inferior and potentially illegal products, European fishing industry representative body Europêche has warned.
Thailand is one of the world’s top producers and exporters of tuna, with an annual production of about 470,000 metric tons (MT) of canned and prepared products. Currently, around 10,000 MT of these products are exported to the European Union each year and are subject to a 24 percent tariff.
However, Europêche said that if the FTA were to include tuna products, it would lead to a much greater influx of imports.
Europêche Tuna Group Director Anne-France Mattlet told SeafoodSource the likely economic impact of this would include lower tuna prices at European retailers, which would in turn impact the profitability of European fleets.
This would occur due to the lower cost structure of Thai tuna production, she said, adding that as Thai exports to the E.U. increase, there would be reduced demand for European tuna, which would become comparatively more expensive.
“The combination of reduced demand and pressure on prices could lead to layoffs and lower job creation in the European tuna sector, particularly affecting tuna purse-seine companies,” Mattlet said. “Both direct and indirect employment would be negatively impacted, as fewer vessels may be required to meet reduced market demand.”
At the same time, the economic uncertainty created by increased competition from duty-free imports could deter investment in European tuna fleets, further exacerbating employment challenges in the sector, she said.
“A duty-free tuna trade with Thailand could undermine the competitiveness of European fleets, particularly in terms of price and market share, leading to negative consequences for employment and investment,” Mattlet said.
Europêche is also “deeply concerned” about the risk of increased imports linked to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and highlighted that Thailand sources a significant portion of its tuna from …
