2012 was not a particularly good year for the Spanish canning industry, 85% of which is based in Galicia; however the year did end rather “balanced†despite the “depressed†economy that has not spared the Spanish industrial sector.
Despite the current difficulties, the manufactures of canned seafood managed to avert the crisis and still produce good results.
The scarcity and high cost of raw materials and the contraction of the Spanish consumers market, as a direct consequence of the economic crisis, is seen as the main reason for the fall in production by 3%, which was offset by a 5.6% rise in value of sales. Not only the value of domestic sales went up, also sales in foreign markets rose 4.2% to Euro 535 million, according to concrete data and figures recently made available by the Spanish National Association of Manufacturers of Canned Fish and Seafood (Anfaco/Cecopesca).
Total canned seafood production in Spain was last year recorded at nearly 350,000 tons, of which 300,000 tons came from Galicia, and generated to the companies of the Spanish sector a combined turnover of nearly Euro 1.5 billion. Over Euro 1.25 billion was processed in Galicia. Galicia is still representing around 85% of the Spanish canning sector, both in terms of production as well as sales.
Tuna accounts for more than half of the turnover and nearly two thirds of the overall production of the sector as a whole. It is the locomotive of the canning sector. The tuna raw material scarcity and, therefore, high cost caused affliction throughout the sector.
Anfaco’s Secretary General, Juan Manuel Vieites, pointed out that there was also a lack of raw materials with other species, such as mussels, cephalopods, mackerel, anchovies, caused by slow catches of the fleet, due to insufficient allocated fishing quotas. However, canners compensated successfully by making greater efforts in exports, avoiding the local economic crisis. Neighbor country Morocco’s economy is currently booming. This explains the increase in exports by 5% on average last year, which resulted in an economic upturn within the sector. Foreign sales exceeded Euro 535 million.