Major Exporters

Major exporters of fresh and frozen tuna

Taiwan is by far the main fresh and frozen tuna trader at 431,000 tons in 2000, accounting for 33 percent in terms of quantity, up 7.7 percent from the previous year. France was second, representing 11 percent of the total fresh and frozen tuna trade, up 18 percent from the previous year. The top five major tuna exporters in terms of quality were Taiwan (431,000 tons), France (144,000 tons), Spain (138,000 tons), Korea (99,000 tons) and Colombia (66,000 tons).

In terms of value, total Taiwanese exports in 2000 stood at $1,141 million, or 41.5 percent of world fresh and frozen tuna trade in 2000, down about 4.1 percent from $1,189 million in the previous year. South Korea was second, representing 11 percent of the total fresh and frozen tuna trade.

The value of the fresh and frozen tuna trade more than doubled between 1987 and 1998 to reach $ 2,700 million. In terms of quantity, exports increased during this period from 788,000 tons to 1,400,000 tons.

The main exporters of fresh and frozen tuna are concentrated in Eastern Asia and Europe. Other major tuna catching countries, such as the USA and Indonesia, participate less in the fresh and frozen tuna trade, as most of the catch goes to the domestic canning industry.

table 9 Annual world exports of fresh and frozen tuna by major exporting countries between 1995 and 2000, 1000 tons

table 10 Annual world exports of fresh and frozen tuna by major exporting countries between 1995 and 2000, US$ million