Technical assistance on issues related to market access and trade-related aspects

Fish and fishery products are among the most traded food commodities worldwide. Trade plays a major role in the fishery and aquaculture sector as a creator of employment, food supplier, income generator, contributor to economic growth and development, and to food and nutrition security. For many countries, fishery exports are essential to the economy. For many developing countries, fish trade represents a significant source of foreign currency earnings in addition to the sectors important role in income generation, employment, food security and nutrition. In 2016, exports of developing countries were valued at US$ 76 billion and their fishery net-export revenues (exports minus imports) reached US$ 36 billion, higher than for all other agricultural commodities combined.

There are many factors that have an impact on the performance of exporting countries to access international markets. Despite technical advances and innovations, many countries, especially those with less-developed economies, still lack adequate infrastructure and services to be able to properly address the market access issues for their fish and fishery products. This lack of capacity can manifest itself in many areas relevant to international fish trade, and often impacts disproportionately on small scale fisheries and on small island developing states.

FAO commits to the provision of technical assistance and capacity development in market access issues covering:

- compliance with seafood product standards and regulations for food safety in major importing countries and regions;
- adherence to voluntary ecolabelling schemes and/or development of nationals schemes, being especially cognizant of the challenges faced by developing countries
- implementing FAO tools that contribute to reducing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing:
o Port State Measures Agreement to deter IUU
o Catch documentation schemes
o Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels
- support to the implementation of traceability of capture fisheries products to combat IUU, but also to respond to the needs of food safety, CITES and ecolabelling.
- support to high-level discussions on fisheries subsidies with an aim to reducing harmful subsidies at
- reduction of seafood fraud, which occurs when seafood is deliberately placed on the market, for financial gain, with the intention of deceiving the consumer.

This will follow FAO mechanisms for implementation, follow-up and governance involving priority setting and dialogue with member countries through the FAO Committee on Fisheries, its Sub-committees on Aquaculture and Fish Trade, FAOs regional conferences, the FAO national offices countries, and its five regional offices in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Near East, Europe, and Asia and the Pacific.