April, 2008 Edition

                                          What's Happening at the FCC

EU – Catch Certificate Proposed

In response to allegations that almost half of the seafood on the EU market is from fishing vessel that have harvested the fish illegally, or it’s an unreported or misreported catch, or from an unregulated harvest (i.e. IUU), the European Commission has tabled a proposal that imports into the EU would be allowed only if the import is accompanied by a certificate signed by the vessel captain that harvested the fish and validated by a government official that the fish was harvested legally.

The proposal claims that EU rules provide a comprehensive system to ensure the legality of fish harvested by EU vessels. However, that the systems applying to vessels of other countries does not ensure equivalent level of control. As such, the EU claims the proposed catch certification scheme is required for imports. It appears EU vessels are exempted, regardless where they fish.

The FCC met with DFO and CFIA on the issue. The government raised concerns regarding the proposal at a recent WTO/GATT meeting. The FCC has raised the issue with members of the International Coalition of Fisheries Associations (ICFA) and AIPCE, the European fish processors' association. AIPCE is rallying its members to get their country’s fisheries ministers to object to the initiative. AIPCE member companies rely heavily on imported raw material for further processing in the EU.

WTO Trade Negotiations – Signs of Revival

The WTO Doha Trade Round negotiations have been revived with optimism that an agreement can be signed in 2009 with the first tariff cuts being introduced January 1, 2010. The key components of this Round are agriculture and tariff reductions, particularly high tariff rates, tariff peaks and tariff escalation (i.e. significantly increased tariffs for processed products).

The tariff negotiations have pretty well been finalized. Tariff reductions will be based on the so-called Swiss Formula - bigger impact on high rates than low rates. For example, the EU’s cooked and peeled shrimp tariff would be reduced from 20% to 5.6%. The EU’s shell-on shrimp tariff would be reduced from 12% to about 4-5%.

With respect to imports to Canada, the few remaining Canadian fish tariffs will virtually be eliminated. One important feature is that the 25% tariff on imported fishing vessels 30.5 meters or less will be reduced to about 6.6%. (For fishing vessels more than 30.5 meters, the FCC was successful a number of years ago in obtaining a 0% duty rate for those vessels).

The tariff cuts would be implemented over a four year period with 5 cuts of 20%.

Russian Audit: Update

There have been further developments regarding the planned audit of Canada’s seafood safety regime by the Russian inspection services. The Minister responsible for the Russian inspection service has been dismissed and replaced by the Minister who was in charge of Russia’s negotiations to join the WTO. In 2007, the previous regime arbitrarily delisted numerous plants in Norway, Argentina, and Chile. In February, they delisted 5 US plants, including the well connected Pacific Seafood, without providing US inspection authorities with any findings of product safety problems.

As a result of the change, the planned audit is in abeyance. It is hoped that the new administration will adopt a more acceptable approach to the audit of foreign seafood safety regimes.

US Senate Introduces Seafood Safety Bill

With 80% of seafood consumed in the US coming from foreign sources and in view of recent seafood safety issues, the US Senate has introduced The Commercial Seafood Consumer Protection Act. Canadian exports represent 20% of those imports.

Main features of the Act are: NOAA, FDA, and the Department of Human Resources would be given specific responsibilities, regarding inspection in the USA; inspecting foreign facilities; and providing technical assistance and training to foreign suppliers and their governments. The legislation would increase the number/capacity of NOAA seafood laboratories & provide $15 million each year from 2009-2013 to implement the provisions of the Bill. Importantly, the Bill directs NOAA/FDA to provide a system to expedite seafood imports from countries with consistently high standards.

FDA Updates Fax Contact for Food Facility Registration

Since December 12, 2003, domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food for consumption in the United States have been required to register with FDA in order to meet the requirements of the 2002 Bioterrorism Act. FDA has recently announced a change in the fax numbers for submitting paper copies of Form 3537 that is used for registering a new facility, updating or canceling existing facility registration information. The new fax numbers are 301-436-2804 or 1-800-573-0846. The majority of facilities register via FDA’s on-line “FURLS” system, but a facility may register via fax or mail if they do not have reasonable access to the Internet.

FDA Updates Food Labeling Guidance Document

FDA has updated their guidance for industry on food labeling. This guidance document is available on the FDA website at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/2lg-toc.html. The guidance is a summary of the required statements that must appear on food labels for FDA-regulated products. The most frequently raised questions regarding labeling have been addressed using a "question and answer" format.

US Catfish Production Continues to Decline

The amount of U.S. catfish processed in 2007, just under 500 million pounds, is a 10-year low, down nearly 25 percent from the industry’s 2003 peak of more than 660 million pounds. Catfish processors will “be lucky to process 300 million pounds” of fish this year, because so many farmers will be getting out of the business, Dick Stevens, president of Consolidated Catfish Cos. LLC, an Isola, Miss.-based catfish processor that does business as Country Select Catfish, said in February.

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Developing Campaign Aimed at consumers

In response to complaints that MSC hasn’t done much to promote the eco-label to seafood consumers, MSC has employed the renowned advertising firm, Saachi &Saachi, to develop programs for marketing the MSC label to consumers. Saachi & Saachi is providing $400,000 of its work pro bono and MSC is contributing an additional $600,000.

Japan Seafood Imports Declined in 2007

Japan’s annual seafood imports in 2007 dipped below three million metric tons, the first timethat’s happened since 1992. The country’s seafood imports in 2007 decreased to 2.89 million metric tons, down 8.3 percent from 2006. In value terms, imports totalled $15.2 billion, a 4.3 percent decline from 2006.

Seafood Russia: Moscow, June 4-6, 2008. Opportunity to Exhibit

Russian seafood imports amounted to $1.5 billion in 2006, having increased 17% from 2005 and 63% higher than 2004. Canadian exports to Russia increased to $62 million in 2007; 40% over the $44 million in 2006. Our increased exports in 2007 were due to the $20 million increased in our shrimp exports.

Save the Dates

FCC 2008 Conference; October 21-23, Quebec City: Join the 400 years celebrations