The Planning Authority Board of Malta recently approved a temporary permit for relocating Azzopardi Fisheries’ cages for bluefin five kilometers from the Qawra shore. Also, they received a permit to increase the number of cages -- from 12 to 24. This temporary permit is valid for five years until a green-light for a new aquaculture zone in the North is issued.

Malta’s tuna quote was increased last month by 34 M/T, thereby raising the catch quantity of smaller bluefin. The volume of the present cages to fatten the fish was insufficient. To avoid the impact of pollution from the cages on coastal waters, they had to be moved to open seas. The Maltese authorities will continue to supervise the degree of pollution.

On May 13, Shanghai Kaichuang Marine International signed a contract for the purchase of a new purse seiner for USD 23.6 million. 

A shipbuilder from Zhoushan from China will build the vessel within the next 500 days. The Jinhui 68 will be 67 meters long and 13 meters wide, and will be added to Shanghai Kaichuang’s fleet. The company currently owns ten purse seiners and leases two purse seiners and two freezer carrier vessels.

Shanghai Kaichuang, a subsidiary of state-owned fishing giant Shanghai Fisheries Group, is rapidly expanding its business. Last year, the company made an investment into three purse seiners worth USD 58.2 million. Since March 2019, Shanghai Kaichuang has been building a USD 23 million processing plant with a potential annual capacity of 25,000 M/T of tuna raw material. In 2018, the company’s tuna catch was 86,800 M/T, an increase of 22 percent compared to 2017.

The merger between Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp will probably be blocked by the EU commission. The joint venture – creating EU's second-largest steel producer – could harm the competition and raise the prices for tin plate used in the cannery industry. Margrethe Vestager, Competition Commissioner of the EU, has to make her decision by June 17 and should announce her arguments several weeks before.

In an attempt to enlarge their market share and to compete with larger, foreign competitors such as Bao Steel, China, and Dongbu, Korea, Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp signed an agreement on June 30, 2018. They have now abandoned the plan because of the opposition from Brussels. By their decision, some think an emerging monopoly on tin plate has been stopped. 

Today's price for tin plate is USD 19,886 per ton.