During the closing session of the International Conference on "European Aquaculture: the path of growth", Arias Caete stressed that the presence of Greek politician, Maria Damanaki "is a clear demonstration of the commitment that the Commission has taken in defense of the interests of EU aquaculture," stressed the minister.
In his speech, Arias Caete highlighted the importance of aquaculture, whose global production in 2010 stood at almost 79 million tons, according to data from the Organization of United Nations (FAO).
This represents a total value at first sale of more than 100,000 million. Furthermore, he added, has a steady growth rate of over six per cent per year, which may be increasing in the coming years.
While these are global statistics, production in the EU in 2010 was 1.2 million tonnes, with a value at first sale of 3,300 million euros, amounts that require having to import products from other countries.
In this context, Spain is the Member State with the highest volume of aquaculture production. Thus, in 2010 represented 20 per cent of the total EU, with 252,000 tons.
Minister Underlines Efforts of Quality European Aquaculture
SPAIN - The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Miguel Arias Caete, has indicated that "European aquaculture is making significant efforts to become a modern and dynamic industry, providing safe food and high quality"
by Gemma Hyland