MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina: one billion dollars fisheries exports in 2006

Argentine fisheries exports, boosted by good squid catches, will range in the one billion US dollars mark this year and could jump to 1.2 billion in the next few years, reports the Mar del Plata press.

"Fisheries exports could reach 1.2 billion US dollars in the next three years" said Gerardo Nieto, Argentina's Under Secretary for Fisheries and Aquaculture during a forum for specialized agriculture journalists held this week in Mar del Plata.

Sales overseas which represent 90% of Argentina's catches should establish this year a new record, beating the 1996 mark of 1.014 billion US dollars and trebling the poor results of 1992 when exports only reached 484 million US dollars.

Enrique Diaz president of one of Argentina's fisheries chamber, CAPeCA, agreed with Mr. Nieto that fisheries exports including mollusks and crustaceans should be over the one billion US dollars milestone this year.

In 2005 Argentina's catches totaled 861.800 tons of which in dollar value 31% was hake hubbsi; 21% squid and 10.5% shrimp.

However Mariano Perez, president of the Argentine Fisheries Industry Chamber cautioned that before the "promising figures" become real "certain conditions are needed", among which higher shrimp catches, more added value to exports and a proactive policy for the sector including "accessible financing".

Mr. Nieto said the increase of exports was possible through diversification and added value and not necessarily because of "an increase in catches", which must remain for conservation reasons in the range of 800.000 tons annually.

Ramiro Sanchez, former head of Mar del Plata's INIDEP, Fisheries Research and Development Centre and currently an advisor to Mr. Nieto said that over-fishing in the nineties and resources mismanagement was responsible for the hake crisis of 2000 and of squid in 2004.

In 1997 Argentina's landings totaled 1.34 million tons of which 585.000 was hake, just below the previous year's record of 604.000.

"This caused the almost collapse of the hake fisheries in 2000 when catches dropped dramatically to 193.000 tons, less than half the average of the last twenty years", said Mr. Sanchez.

In his speech to the forum Nieto said that fisheries policy must conciliate "biological sustainability, profits and social productivity by ensuring genuine and stable jobs" in a sector which in the last five years represented for Argentina export earnings averaging 800 million US dollars, equivalent to 3% of all overseas sales.

The purpose of fisheries policy is to "maintain resources at their maximum sustainable production; an adequate monitoring system of maritime spaces and control of the industry's activities plus boosting aquaculture and fluvial fishing in the country's provinces", indicated Mr. Nieto.

Furthermore he underlined Argentina's export markets diversification in the last five years which jumped from 63 countries in 1996 to 102 in 2005, particularly expanding into Eastern Europe.

Spain with 33.6% remained in 2005 as the main market for Argentine fisheries produce followed by Brazil, 8.2%; Italy 7.7%; United States 6.6%; France 5.4% and Japan 4.7%.

Finally Nieto highlighted as one of the great achievements for the fishing industry, governance, meaning by this a framework for discussions and consensus building with the private sector.

"This has enabled to definitively ban deep sea trawling in large areas of the Patagonian platform as well as agreeing on temporary bans and anticipated closure of fishing grounds even in full season".