Sardine cannery admits Morocco imports

To meet their production needs, Canned Ramirez is importing sardines from Morocco.

"The stop [of the activity] is a real threat that hangs over the industry," said the businessman.

It has now become necessary to "resort to the importation of frozen sardines from Morocco" because they are missing around 40 tonnes per day of this pelagic.

The canneries and Propeixe-Cooperativa de Productores de Pescado del Norte did not sign the normal contract for supply of sardines, so there is a "risk that the plants may stop," said a source at the National Association of the Canned Fish Industries.

For Ramirez, the situation is "very serious" and it has become essential to buy "frozen fish from Morocco," Correio da Manhã reported.

Matosinhos factory has not been supplied to since November 2009 and have already used all their frozen sardine stocks.

"The distribution chains in Portugal and in foreign countries do not admit breaks in the supply chain and will seek another alternative," added the Portuguese cannery executive.

For its part, the president of Propeixe, Agostinho da Mata, argues that "failure to reach an agreement is not anyone's death," and recalls that it has already happened on another occasion.

The discrepancies between fishermen and processors reside from the quantity sold and the fixed prices.

On the one hand, the fishermen want to sell about 250 baskets of sardines in the market, instead of 150 - as has happened in the past two years - and for each basket (22.5 kg) they are clamouring to get paid EUR 11 and not EUR 10.12, as desired by employers.

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com