Tag Archives: International trade
NFFO hits the UK Government for betrayal of the fishing industry during the Brexit negotiations
There are some in the fishing industry whose trust in the Government has been irrevocably shattered. The fishing industry was given assurances from the top of government, the Prime Minister, senior cabinet ministers and Chief Negotiator himself, Lord Frost, that our industry would not be sold out in negotiations with Europe, as it had been by Edward Heath in 1973. There was always a risk. Even when the fishing industry was used as the poster-child for Brexit, the NFFO paid for and distributed thousands of flags bearing the message,,, >click to read< 08:45
Water content deductions keeping harvesters sitting out the summers sea cucumber fishery
Sea cucumbers represent a $10-million industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to Fish Food & Allied Workers president Keith Sullivan. The creatures are a delicacy in Asian countries and other markets, and fetch a price of 70 cents per pound, according to the province’s fishery pricing panel. When catches are landed, processors drain the water inside sea cucumbers to remove the weight of the sea water from the buying price. 
Harvesters used to deduct 23 per cent of the sea cucumber’s weight across the board to account for the water, but that percentage has been changed in the past year, and Sullivan says the harvesters’ bottom lines are being impacted. “Whereas other years you might be getting paid for 80 per cent or close to that of the animal, this year in a couple of cases we’re talking just over 50 per cent,” >click to read< 11:43
U.S. lobster exports to China rebounded in 2020
While the coronavirus pandemic tanked U.S. lobster exports overall in 2020, international trade data suggests the industry’s once-thriving U.S. to China trade pipeline may be making a comeback. International sales of U.S. lobster fell by 22 percent last year, from $548.4 million in 2019 to $426.9 million in 2020. The market saw declines in sales to each of the country’s top 10 international buyers, with the notable exception of China, which bought more than $127 million of U.S. lobster, or a roughly 49 percent increase over 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. >click to read< 10:34
Australian lobster exports feared latest victim of China trade dispute
Tonnes of live Australian lobster are stranded on the tarmac at a Chinese airport, prompting fears they are the next victim in the ongoing trade dispute between Australia and China. The lobsters are facing Chinese customs clearance issues as exporters run out of time to get them into restaurants and shops before they are spoiled. A rejection of the lobsters or a further delay of more than 48 hours, would send a message that it is another trade strike after a year of rising tensions. In 2018-19 more than 94 per cent of Australia’s $752 million rock lobster exports went to China, >click to read< 08:17
Maine elver fisherman dealing with lower eel prices during the coronavirus crisis
Elvers were often worth less than $200 per pound until 2011, when international sources of the eels dried up and the Maine price jumped to nearly $900 per pound. They’ve been worth more than $800 every year since, and hit a high price of more than $2,360 in 2018. Some fishermen call the elvers “wriggling gold,” but this year, the catch is only selling for about $500 per pound. Industry members are blaming concerns about the coronavirus for the plummeting prices. “We’re just going to the river and we’re going straight home,” said Julie Keene, an elver fisherman from the Lubec area. “Price is a lot less than normal. I think we’ve been greatly affected.” >click to read< 10:25
How Effective Have China’s Agricultural and Seafood Tariffs Been?
There is a case that viruses (bird flu, swine fever, and now the coronavirus) have had almost as big an impact on Chinese-American agricultural trade as the trade war. (And more than most want to know on trade in crustaceans) The actual impact of the tariff though isn’t always quite as clear as many think, Take chicken feet (or chicken paws). Guess what really led to a fall in U.S. exports of chicken paws? Bird Flu. There may be a lesson there. Now consider one of the more prominent—at least judging by the press coverage—industries that has been hit by Chinese retaliatory tariffs in the recent trade war: lobster. But there are, in fact, markets other than China for U.S. lobsters, and suppliers other than the United States for China. Given the large two-way trade in lobsters between the United States and Canada,,, >click to read< 16:21
Coronavirus devastates Australian export businesses as economic costs of emergency filter through
Sonia Einersen from Cairns-based business Torres Straits Seafood in Far North Queensland said live imports into China had been cut, so she had nowhere to sell her product. “The coronavirus has really affected the whole fishing industry, we do lobster and live coral trout, it’s affected both of those as well as pretty much every other fishing industry in Australia,” she said. “Boats are tied up, they can’t go out, >click to read< 15:25
U.S., China Reach Substantial ‘Phase One’ Trade Deal
The U.S. and China agreed on the outlines of a partial trade accord Friday that President Donald Trump said he and China’s Xi Jinping could sign as soon as next month. As part of the deal, China would significantly step up purchases of U.S. agricultural commodities, agree to certain intellectual-property measures and concessions related to financial services and currency, The agreement marks the largest breakthrough in the 18-month trade war that has hurt the economies of both nations. Importantly, Trump said the deal was the first phase of a broader agreement. >click to read< 16:34
We’ll take your lobsters, eh? Canadian imports from US soar
Trade hostility from across the ocean was supposed to take a snip out of the U.S. lobster business, but the industry is getting a lifeline from its northern neighbor. Heavy demand from Canada is buoying American lobster as both countries head into the busy holiday export season, according to federal statistics and members of the industry. It’s a positive sign for U.S. seafood dealers and fishermen, even as the industry struggles with Chinese tariffs.,, >click to read<12:05
Shrimp tales in economic swales
For the second time in two years, Trico Shrimp Company isn’t sailing off to Texas for the summer season. Even Erickson & Jensen, San Carlos Island’s other commercial shrimping company, stuck around an extra month before moving its operation to its Texas location in late July. It’s been more than a decade since shrimp have been plentiful just off the coast of Fort Myers Beach, but now both San Carlos Island shrimping companies are catching them by the boatful. “We’re catching phenomenal amounts right now,” said Grant Erickson, owner of Erickson & Jensen, earlier this summer. Earlier in July, one of his captains reportedly caught 150 baskets, or about 4,000 pounds, just off-shore. It’s a bit of a mystery why the shrimp have returned. click here to read the story 07:49
