The National Association of Manufacturers of Canned Goods and Processed Fish and Seafood Products (Anfaco-Cytma) has urged political forces to agree on a state maritime-industry strategy that strengthens the sector’s competitiveness, the maintenance of employment, and the country’s food autonomy.
In a note released to the media, the employers’ association explained that it has submitted to the state-level parties a dossier with 44 proposals, with the aim that the needs of the Spanish industry for the processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products be reflected in the upcoming electoral programs and guide the action of the future Government that is formed after the general elections.
The entity’s secretary general, Roberto Alonso, has stressed that "We need political action toward the blue economy that encompasses the entire value chain. Every decision has effects on fishing and aquaculture, but also on processing, marketing and the employment and investment they generate. Only from a comprehensive maritime-industry vision will we be able to adopt the appropriate measures to strengthen competitiveness and European food autonomy."
Based on this approach, Anfaco has defined four lines of action that it considers essential for the future of the sector: the design of a specific industrial policy, the establishment of "real" reciprocity in international trade, the application of a super-reduced VAT rate to all seafood products and clearly identifiable European financing for the entire value chain.