nternational trade in fishery products increased substantially since the mid 1980s. The total value of exports was valued at US$ 20 billion in 1984. It rose sharply to US$ 55 billion in 2000. Enhanced demand in the developed countries, cheaper methods of preservation and transportation, were probably the main reasons for this increase. However, increases in production, the introduction of the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones and lower tariffs also contributed to this development. The trade was largely between developed countries or from developing countries to the developed countries. About half the exports in value terms are from the developing countries. It is noteworthy that as much as 20 percent of the export value originates from the Low Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDC).
This study seeks to undertake such an analysis of this growing international trade in fishery products. International trade in fishery products does not have any standardized pattern. It is marked by diversity. Diversity of the products traded, the countries involved, the people participating in the production, processing and trade, and of the end consumption patterns and the consumers. Also, unlike other primary products, international fish trade is not concentrated in the hands of a few firms. Assessing the impact of trade will hence require studying a variety of identifiable “representative” cases from the overall global context. In this study the cases will primarily cover the developing countries that export fishery products from the Asia-Pacific region, Africa and Latin America. For completeness of the analysis, the case studies will examine the impact of this trade in the importing countries too - both developed and developing.
The focus of the study will be on the impact that trade has on people’s food security - the physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food at all times. To achieve this, the case studies will examine both the positive and negative impact that international trade has on: fish availability and accessibility; employment and income generation; the environment and the potential for hard currency earnings. All of these aspects have a direct or indirect bearing on food security. The people whom these studies will focus on include fish producers, fish workers and fish consumers in the exporting and importing countries. The studies will also examine the consequence of the export and import of fishery products on the fish stocks in the respective countries. To facilitate a better understanding of the process whereby international trade makes an impact on food security, a schematic diagram exploring the linkages is given in Diagram 1.