Thailand and Spain are markets with global potential to increase their consumption of frozen tuna, and in the case of fresh or refrigerated tuna fillets, the United States is expected to increase its demand in the coming years.
As new lifestyles in Europe are increasing the need for easy-to-use/prepare and value-added fish formats as consumers find it difficult to cook and prepare fish, tuna has multiple opportunities in the present and future.
Because in today's business reality many people prefer to spend more time at home and cook their own food, the demand for easy-to-prepare processed seafood has grown.
At a global level, changes in consumer behavior have been reported, because of the quarantines decreed in several countries of the world by the outbreak of covid-19, people's habits, tastes and preferences have been changing.
The growing uncertainty about the safety of seafood products exported from China, one of the world's leading producers, could represent an opportunity for Central American countries to gain some insight into the global market.
In this context of new commercial reality, the retail channel will continue to be the main demander in the short term for products that are easy to prepare such as tilapia, salmon, trout, shrimp and others with which consumers feel more comfortable cooking at home.
Canned tuna is preferred over presentations in glass or tetra pak containers, with increased demand reported in varieties of yellow and albacore tuna.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The consumption of canned tuna in the Middle East is concentrated in Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which depend entirely on imports, coming mainly from Thailand (86.4%), Italy (7.4%) and other Southeast Asian countries among these, the Philippines and Indonesia, with 6.6%.
In the past year, the Colombian fish imports increased 42%, due to difficulties of local industry in supplying domestic demand.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rica Foreign Trade Promotion Office of (PROCOMER):
The Colombian fishing industry is going through tough times due to various reasons such as resource depletion, pollution, oil and mining spills , increased cost of materials especially related to fuel prices, which has led to a considerable decrease in fish production.
Wood, seafood, coffee and frozen vegetables are some of the products already going to Asia and the aim is to promote the opening of a sales office in Hong Kong.
According to Guatemalan authorities, the main import partner is China and in exports it is Japan. In 2013 exports to Asia generated $897.7 million, however, this figure is expected to be greater by the end of 2014, as Asian demand has increased.
Fish which undergoes long-term processing such as canned fish, seafood and prepared fish dishes represents 52% of the retail market for processed fish, followed by frozen and refrigerated fish.
From a statement issued by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office of Costa Rica (PROCOMER):
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food in Canada (AAFC), the seafood market in Canada increased from $2.8 billion (684.200 tons) in 2009 to $3.8 billion (709.100 tons) in 2013 and it is expected that demand will continue to increase as Canadians include fish and seafood as a regular part of their healthy diet. It is also expected that prices will increase by over 40% in 2016 compared to 2009.
85% of the seafood consumed by Americans is imported, with shrimp, freshwater fish fillets and crab having the largest volume of all such goods imported from abroad.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office:
Some time ago, the USA depended only on shellfish fished on its coasts, the state of New York was famous for its oysters and Louisiana and Mississippi for its prawns, but things have changed.
Previously unthinkable export deals are now possible thanks to the soaring consumption levels of the Chinese.
An article by Amafredo Castellanos in Revistamyt.com reviews the success of Guatemala's Acuamaya, one of the largest shrimp companies in the region, which has already begun to export shrimp to China.
"... Selling seafood to China, or coffee, may sound like a joke.