Market Access and Trade Liberalisation in Fisheries

by Mahfuz Ahmed

Fisheries, Trade and Sustainable Development Series • Issue Paper 4

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Fish and fish products provide important trade and livelihoods opportunities in many coastal developing countries. Nearly 40 percent of fish output is traded internationally with an export value of US$ 58.2 billion, making seafood one of the most extensively traded commodities in the world. Exports of fish products from developing countries today comprise 20 percent of agricultural and food-processing exports – more than tropical beverages, nuts, spices, cotton, sugar and confectionary combined. These exports are likely to increase as demand for fish products continues to increase. In addition to providing a significant source of export revenue for developing countries, the fishing sector also constitutes a vital component of domestic food intake and an important provider of local livelihoods.

However, market access barriers continue to pose serious obstacles for developing countries to expand their participation in international trade, add value to their exports and ensure sustainable fisheries development. While tariffs on fish and fish products are generally low in industrialised countries, they remain high in developing countries and pose a barrier to increased South-South trade. Also, tariff escalation (i.e. higher tariffs on processed products than on raw materials) and tariff peaks (i.e. particularly high tariffs on selected and often sensitive products) continue to hinder fish exports, in particular to industrialised country markets. Even more significant are socalled non-tariff barriers, such as food safety standards and traceability requirements, which many developing country exporters find difficult to meet. Anti-dumping measures, such as import duties, have also been used by some countries to protect their domestic industries from cheaper fisheries imports, such as shrimp and catfish.

To address some of these concerns, a group of countries have launched an initiative in the context of negotiations on non-agricultural market access in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to liberalise trade in fish and fish products through accelerated tariff reductions. The proponents have pointed to the significance of trade in these products for many developing countries as an important source of foreign exchange earnings, income generation, employment and food. Others, however, have raised concerns that accelerated liberalisation will hasten the overexploitation of fisheries by providing an incentive for increased fishing efforts, which would likely lead to over-fishing in exporting countries without proper management schemes. These countries point to continuously declining fish stocks around the world, citing estimates by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization that as much as 75 percent of global marine fish stocks are now fully exploited, over-exploited or depleted.

This issue paper – published in the context of the ICTSD project on Fisheries, International Trade and Sustainable Development – aims to contribute to these debates in an effort to develop fisheries-related trade policies and rules that are supportive of both resource management and livelihoods objectives. To this end, Mahfuz Ahmed – a fisheries expert from the Malaysia-based WorldFish Centre – explores existing constraints faced by developing countries in international fish trade (on both the demand and supply side), and examines the possible socio-economic and environmental impacts of fish trade liberalisation. Dr. Ahmed goes on to discuss how these issues have been addressed in relevant WTO agreements and the ongoing multilateral trade negotiations. He concludes by identifying a range of priority areas for action in the context of the WTO, capacity building initiatives and national policy.

We hope that you will find this paper to be stimulating and useful for your work.

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