4. TRADE AND MARKETING OF PRIME AQUACULTURE SPECIES IN MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES

4.1 Future production and exports
4.2 Marketing development needs

4.1 Future production and exports

Estimates for future production of sea bass, sea bream, mullets and eels according to domestic or export destination, are presented in Table 6. These estimates, for the years 1987 and 1992, support a tentative assumption that the present production of sea bass and bream for export is about 40% of that marketed domestically. In five years time production for export may increase to about 80% of that destined for domestic consumption. Spain, Tunisia and Turkey could be the countries with the most significant increase in production for export. This increase in the availability of exportable quantities (in the order of 9 000-10 000 t per year), which would almost exclusively aim at the Italian market, would result in considerable pressure on present price levels and could lead to market collapse due to lack of coordination. It should be noted that the Italian production is expected to increase by about 4 300 t per year. Thus, available supplies on the Italian market could increase from about 5 000 t in 1987 to 19 000 t in 1992.

Table 3: Estimates of Current Aquaculture Production of Prime Species in the Mediterranean Region in 1985^{1, 2}

Country	Production (t/year)								Year of Estimate
	Sea Bass	Sea Bream	Total Sea Bass and Sea Bream		Mullets		Eels
Cyprus	nil	nil		nil		nil		nil	1985
Egypt	?	?		1350		2100		560	1985
France	150	25		175		240		380	1985
Greece	I 22	I 10	I 32)	432	I nil)	1400	I? )	1000	1985
	E?	E?	E 400)		E 1400)		E? )
Italy	I 500	I 800	I 1300)	2700		2000	I 2500)	4000	1985
	E 700	E 700	E 1400)				E 1500)
Portugal	84	168		252		419	I 70)	308	1986
							E 238)
Spain	15	30		45		nil	I 5	5	1985
Spain (Canaries)	nil	nil		nil		nil		nil
Tunisia	I 30	I 20	I 50)	140	I 10)	260	I nil)	70	1986
	E 40	E 50	E 90)		E 250)		E 70)
Turkey	E 230	E 605		835		4589	E	445	1982
Yugoslavia	I 140			140					1986
Total				6069		11008		6768

¹ No figures are available for Albania, Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Malta and Syria. Only partial figures are available for Yugoslavia. 1985 figures for Egypt were calculated at 70% of estimates for 1987. Breakdown between sea bass and sea bream is given where provided.

² I = Intensive
E = Extensive. Due to statistical problems, figures quoted for extensive aquaculture (lagoon culture) may, in some countries, include some production from lagoon fisheries.

Table 4: Forecast Aquaculture Production of Prime Species in the Mediterranean Region by 1992^{1, 2}

Country	Production (t/year)								Year of Estimate
	Sea Bass	Sea Bream	Total Sea Bass and Sea Bream		Mullets		Eels
Cyprus	120	80		200		nil		nil	1992
Egypt	?	?		2600		4000		1150	1992
France	?	?		1000		240		380	1992
Greece3	I (160)	I (> 500)							1991
			I 2000)	2555	I nil)	1940	I 300)	1690
			E 555)		E 1940)		E 1390)
Italy	2000	5000		7000		9000		6000	1990
Morocco	?	9		1000		?		9	1988
Portugal	?	?		1000		500	I 150)	600	1992
							E 450)
Spain	?	?		3500		-		5	1992
Spain (Canaries)	?	?		1000		-		-	1992
Tunisia	I 3000	I 400	I 3400)	3900	I 600)	1100	I nil)	300	1991
	E 200	E 300	E 500)		E 500)		E 300)
Turkey	?	?		3000		3600		600	1992
Yugoslavia	?	?		500		N/A		N/A	1992
Total			27255		20380		10725

¹ No figures are available for Albania, Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Malta and Syria. Only partial figures are available for Yugoslavia.

² I = Intensive
E = Extensive. Due to statistical problems, figures quoted for extensive aquaculture (lagoon culture) may, in some countries, include some production from lagoon fisheries.

³ Two estimates were given for intensive production of sea bass and sea bream.
The more optimistic has been quoted as the total sea bass/bream figure (2 000 tons).

Table 5: Aquaculture Production Estimated as a Proportion of Total Catch of the Prime Mediterranean Species (t/year)¹

Country	Sea Bass and Sea Bream			Mullets			Eels			Year of Estimate
	Total	Aquaculture	(%)	Total	Aquaculture	(%)	Total	Aquaculture	(%)
Cyprus	0.64		(0)	8.2	-	(0)	-	-	(0)	1984
France	5000	175	(4)	5000	240	(5)	1700	380	(22)	1986/85
Greece	515	280	(54)	3101	1337	(43)	790	776	(98)	1984
Italy	4100	2700	(66)	6500	2000	(31)	4000	4000	(100)	1985
Portugal	750	252	(34)	723	419	(58)	323	308	(95)	1985/86
Spain	1400	45	(3)	1000	-	(nil)	700	5	(1)	1985
Tunisia	740	140	(19)	1760	260	(15)	120	70	(58)	1986
Turkey	2263	835	(37)	2748	4589	(167)	583	445	(76)	1985/82

¹ Where two dates have been given, the first refers to total catch data and the second to aquaculture data. Countries where incomplete estimates are available have been omitted.

Table 6: Estimates of Market Supplies of Selected Cultured Prime Species in certain Mediterranean countries (t)

(a) Sea bass and sea bream

Country	Domestic Market			Export Market
	1987	1992	Increase	1987	1992	Increase
Cyprus	5	200	195	-	-	-
Egypt	1630	2000	370	300	600	300
France	-	500	500	200	500	300
Greece	700	1500	800	-	-1	-
Italy	2700	7000	4300	-	-	-
Morocco				-	1000	1000
Portugal	33	225	192	217	775	558
Spain	23	960	937	92	3840	3748
Tunisia	117	1303	1186	23	2597	2574
Turkey	700	800	100	1500	2200	700
Yugoslavia	-	-	-	140	500	360
Total	5908	14488	8580	2472	12012	9540

¹ will depend on relative price developments on domestic versus international markets

(b) Mullets

Country	Domestic Market			Export Market
	1987	1992 Increase		1987	1992	Increase
Cyprus	-	-	-	-	-	-
Egypt	3000	4000	1000	-	-	-
France	240	240	-	-	-	-
Greece	1400	1800	400	-	-	-
Italy	2000	9000	7000	-	-	-
Portugal	419	500	81	-	-	-
Spain	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tunisia	260	1100	840	-	-	-
Turkey	600	1000	400	2900	2600	(-) 300
Total	7919	17640	9721	2900	2600	(-) 300

(c) Eel

Country	Domestic Market			Export Market
	1987	1992	Increase	1987	1992	Increase
Cyprus	-	-	-	-	-	-
Egypt	500	550	50	300	600	300
France	80	80	-	300	300	-
Greece	50	50	-	850	1450	600
Italy	3000	4000	1000	1000	2000	1000
Portugal	147	200	53	85	300	215
Spain	5	100	95	-	100	100
Tunisia	6	43	37	64	257	193
Turkey	-	-	-	583	600	17
Total	3788	5023	1235	3182	5607	2425

Source: Estimates based on the personal opinion of private and government personnel associated with aquaculture operations in Mediterranean countries. Inconsistencies between the figures presented here and the estimates provided in Tables 3 and 4 reflect possible margins of error.

The only country identified which exports mullet from (extensive) aquaculture production is Turkey. It is estimated that the amount exported will decrease from 2 900 t (1987) to 2 600 t (1992). The workshop participants expect a doubling in cultured mullet for domestic markets, mostly due to anticipated substantial increases in Italian production, but no particular marketing problems are foreseen, at least not on an international scale.

The production increase of cultured eel for domestic markets is rather modest, except in Italy, where an increase of 1 000 t per year was forecast between 1987 and 1992. Total increase expected in all other countries is only 235 t per year. Production of eel for export on the other hand, is expected to experience a more pronounced growth of about 2 400 t, an increase of about 75% above present eel production for export. Italy, Greece, Egypt, Portugal and Tunisia are the countries principally responsible for these additional quantities becoming available for the markets in the Netherlands and Federal Republic of Germany. The group agreed that these markets should be able to absorb these additional quantities but it would be desirable to watch market developments closely, in particular competing production.

In summary, the consensus was that no marketing or trade problems were to be expected with mullet; that Mediterranean producers should monitor developments in export markets for eel, and that marketing and trade could become critical for the future viability of sea bass and sea bream culture.

4.2 Marketing development needs

The markets for eel show very specific product requirements. The opinion was expressed that, in the future, consumption of smoked eel may increase at the expense of fresh consumption, but total demand for eel may not grow as fast as production. Market developments should therefore be monitored, particularly in Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands. The feasibility of promoting preserved eel products (smoked, marinated) should be investigated if necessary.

There was considerable discussion regarding market expectations for sea bass and sea bream. Reference was made to salmon particularly as a demonstration of the potential advantages of duly recognizing marketing requirements, and of the dangers of marketing sea bass and sea bream in an erratic and uncoordinated way. Examples of price falls for sea bream of 50%, due to a minor over-supply and the market situation for fresh Norwegian farmed salmon in Paris in November 1986, were noted. It was strongly advocated that every effort should be made to push farmed sea bream into the present primary position of salmon in the expensive restaurant trade. The idea behind this is the promotion of a typically Mediterranean product, which carries the positive associations of summer and recreation, and which is already appreciated in Italy and France. Table 7 gives a summary of survey results referring to servings of fish dishes in 70 high class restaurants on the French Mediterranean coast, and showed that choice of sea bass increases with increased menu price (as do salmon and sole but to a lesser extent).

¹ Small quantities are also said to be exported by France

Table 7: Summary of a Survey of Seventy High-Class Restaurants on the French Mediterranean Coast

Data		Total Sample	Sea Bass Menu Price about F.F. 200 (US$ 30.4)	Sea Bass Menu Price about F.F. 280 (US$ 42.5)
Total menus served		2174400	1661500	1090500
	of which fish menus	1296750	996780	635543
	of which sea-bass menus	184072	61348	43688
Total quantity of fish served (kg)		462366	348873	222440
Total quantity of sea-bass served (kg)		74353	61348	43688
Percentage menu penetration*
Angler fish		10%	10%	3%
Salmon		21%	19%	22%
Sole		19%	17%	21%
Gilthead sea-bream		16%	13%	6%
Turbot John Dory		11%	12%	11%
Diverse Mediterranean species		6%	8%	7%
Sea-bass		17%	22%	29%
Average number of reference fish		6	7	8
Number of restaurants		70	46	26
Average menu price		246	304	364
* Rounded figures do not necessarily add to 100%

Source: Felter, 1986.

In addition the large number of product markets and prices, related to the variations between sea bream varieties of different geographical origin, was mentioned as making the market (which actually consisted of a number of small markets) rigid and inflexible. However, there were also examples of hitherto unknown species such as Argentinian besugo replacing sea bream (at US$ 8.00-9.00/kg, airfreighted fresh on ice from Mar del Plata to Milan), possibly at a level of 15 t per month.

The requirements of the supermarket trade in respect of uniformity of sizes and standardization of packs were highlighted as well as the advantage of portion size compared with off-sized and over-sized fish for the restaurant trade.