Ecuadornews:
There are two areas where the tuna has an enormous economic and social weight: the Posorja parish of Guayaquil and Manta (Manabí).
Those two populations will be the most affected if there is a migration to Peru or Panama, which is offered with lower costs to flag the Ecuadorian fleet.
The national tuna vessels have shown concern after the increase in the price of diesel, according to the international market, decreed by the Government of Lenin Moreno.
Last week the price was around $ 1.80 per gallon, plus taxes, almost 80 cents more than the value in effect before the decision.
According to Lucía Fernández, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Manta, to Diario EXPRESO last week, in Ecuador not only is the cost of fuel now high, but also of other goods and services, such as supplies and equipment.
And also that national vessels meet a series of requirements on environmental and labor issues that do not meet in Asia, with which they compete at a disadvantage in the most relevant markets, such as Europe.
In 2017, for example, the two largest manufacturers (and also owners of ships) of Posorja billed an amount greater than 586 million dollars. Both Industrias Industriales Real (Nirsa) and Salica del Ecuador, a company of the Spanish tuna group Albacora, are the driving force of the town.
In that locality, the inhabitants work in the factories or as crew members of an extensive fleet that at the national level is made up of 115 vessels, according to the statistics of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (CIAT).
Most of these boats, more during the 72 days that they must make a ban, arrive at the docks for maintenance, where they occupy painters, mechanics, welders, technologists, craftsmen and buy supplies for the provisioning.
In Posorja, in addition to Salica and Nirsa (with 15 vessels flagged up to 2014), the Servigrup Group is one of the largest in the Ecuadorian fishing sector and a supplier of tuna for the multinational Starkist and the other national packers in the area.
Ecuador has 19 ships with a hauling capacity of more than 1,000 tons. The Panama Tuna vessel is the largest, with 2,799 tons registered at the IATTC. It belongs to the company Guayatuna, of the Posorja parish. (I)
Source: https://www.expreso.ec/economia/atun-pesca-comercio-empresas-exportaciones-economia-KF2610941
