Archive:Fish production and processing statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
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This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). According to the statistical classification of economic activities in the EU (NACE Rev 1.1), the present article covers fish production and processing, corresponding to NACE Group 15.2, which is part of the food, beverages and tobacco - NACE Rev.1.1 sector. The activities covered in this article are:
- the preparation and preservation of fish, crustaceans and molluscs (be they fresh, frozen, smoked, salted or canned);
- the manufacture of prepared fish and seafood dishes.
It should be noted that this article excludes the agricultural activities of growing, farming, rearing and hunting and also fishing (NACE Divisions 01 and 05).
_Structural_profile_-_ranking_of_top_five_Member_States_in_terms_of_value_added_and_persons_employed,_2006.PNG)
Main statistical findings
Structural profile
The processing and preserving of fish and fish products (NACE Group 15.2, hereafter termed the fish processing sector) is relatively small. In 2006, it consisted of an estimated 4.0 thousand enterprises across the whole of the EU-27, employing 129.4 thousand persons, and generated EUR 4.0 billion of value added (equivalent to 2.0 % of the value added generated across the whole of the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector).
_Index_of_production,_EU-27_(2000%3D100).PNG)
The fish processing sectors of Spain, France and the United Kingdom generated more than half (51.6 %) of the total value added in the EU-27 in 2006. They also had the largest workforces in these activities (a combined 42.0 % of the fish processing workforce), while there was also a relatively sizeable fish processing workforce in Poland (11.7 % of the EU-27 total in 2005).
In terms of the relative contribution of fish processing to non-financial business economy value added, Lithuania and Latvia were by far the most specialised Member States. Although fish processing contributed no more than 0.4 % of value added within their respective non financial business economies, this share was, nevertheless, about five times as high as the EU-27 average. Estonia, Denmark, Portugal and Spain were also relatively specialised in fish processing activities in 2006.
The output of the EU-27’s fish processing sector in 2007 was down sharply (4.9 %) on the level for 2006, the first significant cut-back in production since 1997. This downturn in output came after a period of sustained growth, despite concerns that several important fish stocks have been on the verge of collapse. The fish processing sector recorded an average rate of growth between 2000 and 2006 that was equivalent to 4.0 % per year, one of the highest rates among any of the food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing subsectors. It is likely that this growth in the activity of fish processing has been underpinned by a relatively high increase in fish imports from areas outside of the EU.
Expenditure and productivity
Personnel costs in the fish processing sector accounted for 12.0 % of total operating costs in 2006, a slightly lower proportion than the average for the whole of the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector. This characteristic was common to almost all of the Member States for which data are available. The relative importance of personnel costs as a share of total operating costs was particularly low in Denmark (9.7 % compared with an average of 15.7 % for the whole of the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector), as well as in Portugal and the United Kingdom. In part, this reflects relatively low average personnel costs, which stood at EUR 20.8 thousand per employee for the EU-27 in 2006 – the lowest level among the ten NACE groups that are covered by the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector – and about 20 % below the average for all of these activities.
The apparent labour productivity of the fish processing sector in the EU-27 was EUR 30.6 thousand per person employed in 2006; this was the second lowest level among the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing subsectors. Despite relatively low average personnel costs, the wage adjusted labour productivity ratio of the fish processing sector in the EU-27 was, at 146.6 %, beneath the average for the whole of the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector in 2006. The wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios for the fish processing sectors of Hungary, Poland and Ireland were particularly low.
Data sources and availability
The main part of the analysis in this article is derived from structural business statistics (SBS), including core, business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as information compiled on a multi-yearly basis, and the latest results from development projects.
Other data sources include short-term statistics (STS).
Context
The food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector in the EU is comprised of a relatively small number of enterprises that have a considerable global market presence, which operate alongside a high number of relatively small enterprises that serve more local, regional and national markets.
As these enterprises not only produce goods for final consumption but also intermediate products for other manufacturing activities, they are affected by a broad scope of legislation. The main legislative areas affecting the EU’s food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector, however, tend to involve international trade agreements, or food and feed legislation. As a majority of the EU’s agricultural production is processed by the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector (Confederation of Food and Drink Industries (CIAA)), developments in Common Agricultural Policy and associated Common Market Organisations can have important implications for costs and processes in the food chain. Regarding food legislation, the European Parliament and the Council proposed an update of the laws regarding the provision of information to consumers (COM(2008) 40 final) in 2008, in order to clarify and consolidate existing regulations. In part, this proposal was built on a 2007 White Paper covering a Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity (COM(2007) 279 final), which stressed the need for consumers to have access to clear, consistent and evidence-based nutritional information.
The European Commission is reviewing its Common Fisheries Policy, in order to try to make it more efficient in ensuring the economic viability of European fishing fleets, conserving fish stocks, integrating it with Maritime Policy and providing good quality food to consumers. A review was launched at an informal Council meeting on 29 September 2008. Indeed, conservation policies have dominated recent legislative developments in this area: a series of long-term stock plans were launched in 2008, such as for cod, herring and bluefin tuna, as well as regulations on mesh size and the thickness of twine to be used in fishing nets. There have also been new rules on the control, monitoring and enforcement of fishing activities, as well as structural measures regarding the fishing fleet. These regulations have an impact on supplies to and costs of the EU fish processing sector.
Further Eurostat information
Publications
Main tables
Database
Dedicated section
Other information
- COM(2007) 279 final - A Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity related health issues
- Proposal for a Regulation (COM(2008) 40 final) on the provision of food information to consumers
- Regulation 517/2008 of 10 June 2008 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation 850/98 as regards the determination of the mesh size and assessing the thickness of twine of fishing nets
- Regulation 530/2008 of 12 June 2008 establishing emergency measures as regards purse seiners fishing for bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean, east of longitude 45 °W, and in the Mediterranean Sea
- Regulation 1300/2008 of 18 December 2008 establishing a multi-annual plan for the stock of herring distributed to the west of Scotland and the fisheries exploiting that stock
- Regulation 1342/2008 of 18 December 2008 establishing a long-term plan for cod stocks and the fisheries exploiting those stocks and repealing Regulation 423/2004