Jose Luis Freire, president of Conxemar, Spain''s Association of Wholesalers, Importers, Manufacturers and Exporters of Fish Products and Fish Farming talks about the isssues surrounding the Spanish processing sector - How would you assess the present situation of the fishing products processing industry in Spain?
Increasingly, market demands prepared and ready-to-cook products, which shows a clear expansion of this industry.
This sector also has particular problems concerning to the high number of new companies dedicated to processing industry.
In which way will the CFP proposals reforms affect the processing sector in Spain?
The present reform proposals of the CFP presented by Europe will not affect directly to the processing industry, at least in Spain, where the use of imported raw materials is very high.
However, we are concerned with processing industry because our direct relation with the extractive sector means that a reduction on captures will obviously affect our industry. We keep on giving our support to the products caught by the European fleet because, at first, of course, we buy at a Community level, depending on fleet production.
Which are the main problems associated with the processing industry at the moment?
We have a constant problem, i. e. the need of raw material supply at international market prices. The European industry still has to afford import quotas and tariffs on products that our fleet does not catch. In some cases tariffs reach 15 per cent, which restrict our companiesà competitiveness.
The consumer has become more and more demanding each day. Is this industry prepared to meet this higher rate of exigency?
Without any doubt. Most of the factories are new and equipped with the latest advances in technology.
Competitiveness is very high, compelling this industries to attend the needs of the consumer, who only choose the best ones when there is true competitiveness.
After the crisis derived from pollution on other food products, can be stated that fish is secure?
Fish is a secure product. Besides, the consumer knows that industry works with the maximum safety measures in order to grant that its products does not entail any danger.
How do you see the future of this product?
By the reasons that I have already mentioned, we have to be optimistic.
