| Chile,
which already has a free trade agreement with the
European Union (EU), is
the first to be targeted for mussel farming in the
Southern Cone. The second will be Argentina, where
agreements are likely to be extended.
Most crucial at the
moment seems to be the notion of 'first come, first
served'. Opmega President Javier Figueira says it is
important "to control production so the free market
doesn't end up affecting us." So, the priority is to
find a solution to this potential problem before it
occurs. The aim is to boost production and consumption
in the chosen countries, but directed towards the South
American market to reduce the impact on the local
fishing economy, reports La Voz de Galicia.
Behind this development
drive there is a growing force: the potential and danger
of aggressive international competition in the mussel
sector. But it isn’t only the new free market situation
that could be a threat to the area. These countries'
products are also in demand from canning companies that
are also planning to expand to Latin America.
Until now, Europe has
been very competitive in the fresh sector, but not the
industrial. From now on they will be trying to satisfy
the demand for smaller mussels, which are cheaper in
other countries.
Also, China is attracting
attention from the industrial fishing sector in general,
and from Opmega in particular. Free trade agreements
still haven’t been reached there, but the EU is working
to change that. Dutch companies are established there
and it seems Galician mussel companies don’t want to be
left behind.
Optimistically, Figueira
says that when the companies they represent have reached
their goals, this "will be the first time that a
producers’ organisation will have solved a problem which
common sense told them was going to happen."
|
