It is said that a comprehensive value-chain analysis of international fish trade with an impact assessment of the small-scale sector is a follow-up to a 2004 study on the impact of international fish trade on local food security. The main purpose of this is to identify ways to improve food security for local populations in developing countries through more informed policy decisions. It is fact that fish exports is a major source of income for developing countries.
Reports revealed that exports from developing countries represent almost 50 percent of global fish exports in value with net export revenues earned by developing countries from fish trade (exports minus imports) now exceeding USD 25 billion per year. Grimur Valdimarsson, Director of FAO’s Fish Products and Industry Division, said that the fisheries and aquaculture sector has become extremely globalized.
He added that today, almost 40 percent in volume of all fish enters international trade with production and processing increasingly outsourced at both regional and global levels. In fish production, a large share is carried out by the small-scale sector, including over half the world’s marine and inland catch.
Hans Henrik Thaulow, Acting Director of Norad’s Department for Private Sector Development and the Environment, opined that at Norad this study is important because it focuses on the small-scale sector. It has the potential to give small-scale operators in developing countries an improved opportunity to compete in world markets and to obtain a larger share of the value created throughout the value chain.
