Updates on International Fish Trade

Southeast Asian Trade in Fish and Fishery Products

The Southeast Asian countries have already secured a niche in the global market for their fish and fishery products, contributing about 14% to the world’s total exportation of fish and fishery products in 2015 in quantity and value, and a little less than 40% to the total exportation from Asia, also in terms of quantity and value. Viet Nam, Thailand and Indonesia had remained the Southeast Asian region’s highest exporters of fish and fishery products during the past five years or so. In fact, in 2014, Viet Nam and Thailand ranked as the world’s third and fourth highest exporters, respectively. The efforts made by the Southeast Asian countries to improve their respective fisheries management policies and regulations towards sustainability have greatly contributed to this success. Such initiatives also enabled the countries to comply with the requirements of importing countries. SEAFDEC will continue to assist the Southeast Asian countries in these endeavors in order that the growth of the region’s exportation of fish and fishery products would remain positive in the future. The information provided in this webpage is meant to keep the Southeast Asian countries abreast of the developments in the international trading arena of fish and fishery products, to be able to cope with the downsides that challenge the fisheries industry.

Overview on Importation-Exportation

Table 1. Importation of Fish and Fishery Products from the Southeast Asian countries (MT)

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Brunei Darussalam	7,661	9,926	13,993	12,196	9,380
Cambodia	5,553	7,190	7,869	21,924	14,555
Indonesia	354,394	269,316	264,741	237,163	211,439
Lao PDR	5,747	5,731	6,000	6,629	7,467
Malaysia	365,460	417,029	463,235	465,400	419,279
Myanmar	6,102	7,124	9,529	8,962	17,035
Philippines	203,682	268,477	257,910	302,923	385,052
Singapore	220,710	213,305	206,906	204,894	205,346
Thailand	1,668,020	1,662,765	1,667,819	1,624,949	1,618,755
Viet Nam	332,027	330,521	339,272	413,344	431,136
Total	3,169,356	3,191,384	3,237,274	3,298,384	3,319,444

Source: FAO Fisheries Global Information System (FIGIS)

Table 2. Importation of Fish and Fishery Products from the Southeast Asian countries (US$ 1000)

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Brunei Darussalam	32,605	42,728	51,302	45,897	40,660
Cambodia	5,197	6,867	7,396	20,969	11,080
Indonesia	410,213	357,841	378,379	354,345	317,073
Lao PDR	6,126	6,957	7,632	9,221	12,557
Malaysia	998,720	1,071,037	1,070,210	1,131,857	945,414
Myanmar	15,760	18,300	22,711	23,570	38,300
Philippines	193,314	263,038	278,737	266,158	369,746
Singapore	1,160,247	1,072,760	1,070,573	1,106,783	1,090,490
Thailand	2,788,193	3,205,504	3,238,545	2,840,219	2,615,969
Viet Nam	726,215	837,929	916,980	1,289,819	1,300,954
Total	6,336,590	6,882,961	7,042,465	7,088,838	6,742,243

Source: FAO Fisheries Global Information System (FIGIS)

Table 3. Exportation of Fish and Fishery Products from the Southeast Asian countries (MT)

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Brunei Darussalam	730	1,271	1,497	1,724	1,540
Cambodia	30,000	31,025	32,000	31,684	32,424
Indonesia	1,100,842	1,216,617	1,225,233	1,249,873	1,049,234
Lao PDR	9	3	1	0	6
Malaysia	295,022	266,469	246,024	239,451	252,718
Myanmar	373,898	387,371	376,848	345,247	338,284
Philippines	231,711	253,838	317,973	275,166	235,185
Singapore	57,218	52,786	47,906	35,392	44,032
Thailand	1,762,955	1,762,131	1,604,445	1,664,372	1,545,968
Viet Nam	1,373,363	1,418,313	1,528,848	1,714,803	1,591,002
Total	5,225,748	5,389,824	5,380,775	5,557,712	5,090,393

Source: FAO Fisheries Global Information System (FIGIS)

Table 4. Exportation of Fish and Fishery Products from the Southeast Asian countries (US$ 1000)

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Brunei Darussalam	1,701	2,435	4,311	4,146	3,342
Cambodia	60,000	61,020	62,500	63,900	65,900
Indonesia	3,360,852	3,752,132	4,024,926	4,499,959	3,788,848
Lao PDR	17	33	28	21	89
Malaysia	916,456	846,169	800,030	866,051	688,272
Myanmar	555,515	654,129	652,840	536,255	482,237
Philippines	711,155	850,344	1,185,788	1,054,005	804,825
Singapore	416,096	366,907	338,942	322,822	376,662
Thailand	8,159,613	8,144,920	7,067,700	6,657,459	5,701,788
Viet Nam	6,259,788	6,291,141	6,900,612	8,046,560	6,774,148
Total	20,441,193	20,969,230	21,037,677	22,051,178	18,686,111

Source: FAO Fisheries Global Information System (FIGIS)

Synthesis on International Fish Trade

Importing Countries' Regulations

Public Comment Period Open: NOAA Trusted Trader Program for Seafood Imports

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries has announced the opening of a public comment period on a proposed rule to establish a voluntary Commerce Trusted Trader Program for U.S. importers –a valuable complement to the U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP).

The National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing this Commerce Trusted Trader Program (CTTP) as part of an effective seafood traceability process to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud. The voluntary CTTP supplements the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), recently implemented under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposed rule and a number of public listening sessions will be scheduled over the next 60 days. Written comments must be received by March 19, 2018.

U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) (click to link)

The Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) establishes for imports of certain seafood products, the reporting and recordkeeping requirements needed to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU)-caught and/or misrepresented seafood from entering U.S. commerce, providing additional protections for the U.S. national economy, global food security and the sustainability of our shared ocean resources.

Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, amending Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1936/2001 and (EC) No 601/2004 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 1093/94 and (EC) No 1447/1999 (click to link)

The EC Regulation 1005/2008 sets out a European Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing. This system applies to all IUU fishing and associated activities carried out within the territory of Member States, within European Community waters, within maritime waters under the jurisdiction or sovereignty of third countries and on the high seas. These provisions include rules on inspections of third country fishing vessels in European Community member States ports, a catch certification scheme for importation and exportation of fishery products, as well as provisions on identification of fishing vessels engaged in IUU fishing.

Other Resources

Sumaila, U. Rashid, Christophe Bellmann, and Alice Tipping. Fishing for the Future: Trends and Issues in Global Fisheries Trade. E15Initiative. Geneva: International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and World Economic Forum, 2014. www.e15initiative.org/