Business

PAFCO Tuna shortage expected to worsen

October 17, 2019 4:45 pm

The supply of Tuna to the Pacific Fishing Company is expected to further decline.

PAFCO Chief Executive Bhan Pratap says this year has been challenging as PAFCO has also seen more competition in the industry.

While making a submission to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts today, Pratap says some suppliers have now opted for other buyers who export the fish overseas for processing.

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“There are price issues as well, there’s lots of competition for Tuna as well, we know there are other companies buying Tuna in Fiji as well, so Tuna is landed in Suva but it’s not processed here its exported and processed in other factories around the region.”

Pratap also says that Bumble Bee Foods, which sometimes supplies fish to them, has taken a step back.

“When we have issues of low supply we go back to the agents and the reasons we get is that the catch is low, at times Bumble Bee buys Tuna from other regions and supply to us but it has not been the case this year”

PAFCO is now only able to process around 70 metric tons daily which is comprised of both albacore and skipjack tuna, compared to 120 metric tons needed daily to efficiently run operation.