24 June 2021 – Despite experiencing a deep recession during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a strong sense of optimism that Greece’s thriving aquaculture industry is headed for a swift recovery as countries and economies worldwide begin to unlock.
Before the pandemic in 2019, Greece led the way in European aquaculture, farming 115,262 tonnes of fish, bringing in over €553 million in revenue. With over 80% of farmed fish exported, trading was heavily impacted in 2020 by travel bans.
Central to the future success of this industry is the “Fish From Greece” label issued by the not-for-profit Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organisation (HAPO), which aims to showcase “the excellent quality, freshness, taste and nutritional properties of fresh Greek fish, carefully bred by expert professionals [while also] respecting the environment and European regulations”.
HAPO estimates that marine fish farming, predominately seabream (55%) and seabass (42%), still constitutes close to 83% of the volume and over 96% of the value of total aquaculture production in Greece. Following the trend of 2020, both seabream and seabass prices are expected to continue to rise through 2021.
Recent statistics published in the Annual Report 2020 of Aquaculture by the Federation of Greek Mariculture detail that most of the 302 fish farms operating in Greece are family-owned or SMEs. These farms represent close to 4,000 workers and around 12,000 supplementary workers, for example, scientific and technical staff. At the other end of the scale are several larger farmers.
In January 2021, after extensive negotiations, Avramar was formed through a merger of three leading Greek and Spanish aquaculture companies – Andromeda, Nireus and Selonda – and Perseus, a specialised fish feed producer. This consolidation is expected to help stabilise prices of raw materials.
Feedinfo spoke to Ms. Evangelia Voutsina from Avramar to find out more about the impact of COVID-19 on Greek aquaculture.
“During the waves of the pandemic, we saw a negative development in sales, as in all our markets they closed the restaurant sector with lockdowns. Supermarkets, however, remained open, and our retail sales increased, especially in Spain, where we saw stronger and more consistent growth. However, this increase in retail was not enough to offset the decrease in wholesale, especially in HORECA [hospitality] channels,” she said. “Avramar has an expanded customer base so that we can respond to current market trends. We remain optimistic, of course, as it is a fact that there is a positive long-term trend in the consumption of fish as part of a healthy diet.”
Greece also boasts the first certified seabream and seabass farms in Europe based on new Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) guidelines. Following these guidelines represents a renewed focus on responsible production practices and a desire to protect the integrity of marine ecosystems.
Indeed, in advance of the EU-Med7 Summit in Athens in September 2021, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated his intention to discuss further protections to the Mediterranean marine environment.
In addition, Greece’s €30.5 billion EU ‘Recovery and Resilience Fund’ will undoubtedly also be on the agenda. This EU-funded project mandates investment in “green transitions” and “social resilience.” Of particular interest to HAPO and aquaculture professionals will be how Greece can use this to preserve fish farming jobs and supply chains of all sizes.