Seafood Trade Matters
The latest developments in international seafood trade & market access affecting Australian seafood exporters.
April 28, 2023
Seafood Trade Matters: DAFF paper on IUU measures; Global Seafood Expo; Spain market report
Note for subscribers: Seafood Trade Matters and STAG News Bites will now arrive in your inbox every Friday.
Call for submissions: Preventing IUU seafood imports
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry (DAFF) is considering measures to
address the importation of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) seafood in line with the
government’s election commitments. Feedback on the discussion paper is requested by AEST
5pm, Friday 23 June 2023. Learn more on the DAFF website here.
Global Seafood Expo Barcelona
Seafood Expo Global was held in Spain this week, featuring the largest number of exhibitors in
the event’s history. Seafood Industry Australia led a contingent of fifteen exporters under the
Great Australian Seafood banner.
International Supermarket News reports on the Australian offering here.
Read more about the expo here, and have a closer look at product trends on the Seafoodsource
website here.
Philippines: new SPS import clearance requirement
DAFF has notified exporters of changes to the Sanitary Phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-
IC) and validity period for fish and fish products exported to the Philippines. Read the full market
access advice on the DAFF website here.
Israel: New market access
DAFF has negotiated new market access for fish and fish products into Israel. The agreement greatly expands the range of seafood products eligible for export to Israel. Read the full market
access advice on the DAFF website here.
Spain: USDA market report
Coinciding with the Global Seafood Expo in Barcelona, the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Global Agriculture Information Network has released an updated seafood
market report for Spain.
According to the report, ‘In 2022, Spain was the fourth largest importer of fish and seafood in
the world after the United States, China, and Japan. It not only has the largest fish processing
industry in Europe, but also has a high per capita consumption and a high per capita
expenditure on fish and seafood products’.
Read the full report here.
Supply Chain Snapshot: Airfreight
The latest Supply Chain Snapshot, focusing on airfreight, is now available on the Export Supply
Chain Service webpage here.
China: Media Comment on lobster access
The Global Times Chinese edition has a story on the resumed Australia-China coal trade, which
identifies lobster access as an important next milestone in judging the recovery of trade ties.
Read more here (Chinese).
Vietnam: Exports to Australia up under CPTPP, but down in last quarter
According to Seafood Media Group, ‘The opening of the Australian market together with tariff
incentives from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) free trade agreement has brought about an opportunity to increase Vietnam's seafood exports to Australia in recent years.’ Vietnam now accounts for around 23% of Australia’s seafood imports, up from 13% in 2017, with prawns making up around 71% of total imports by value. Read the story here.
At the same time, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) is
reporting a downturn in Vietnam’s seafood exports in the first quarter of this year compared to
last year. For example, “shipments to the U.S. fell by more than 50% year-on-year to US$284
million. Exports to Australia were down 30% to $65 million.” VASEP says inflation is to blame.
Read more from Retail News Asia here.
China: Qingdao Seafood airfreight channel
China Civil Aviation News reports on seafood arriving by air into Qingdao city, ‘More and more
imported chilled aquatic products, such as Japanese sea cucumbers and Norwegian salmon,
have entered the country through the air freight channel, and the cumulative cargo volume has
reached 441 tons.’ Read more here (Chinese).
The STAG is funded by partners:
The Seafood Trade Advisory Group (STAG) is jointly funded by the Australian government and the fishing industry. We receive funds from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC).which is a statutory authority within the portfolio of the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
Any information provided in this STAG publication is general in nature. Before acting on any information provided, you should consider its appropriateness to your individual circumstances and business objectives.
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