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Corporate Dynamics in the Shelf-Stable Tuna Industry

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FFA Shelf-Stable Tuna Dynamics Study Dynamics Tuna Shelf-Stable FFA 1 CORPORATE DYNAMICS IN THE SHELF-STABLE TUNA INDUSTRY Elizabeth Havice l Liam Campling August 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DISCLAIMER The authors gratefully acknowledge Amanda Hamilton for her extensive input and Shafaq Malik for research assistance. The content of this report (including all analysis and opinions) are solely the responsibility of the consultants and do not necessarily reflect the position or thinking of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency. FORUM FISHERIES AGENCY PO Box 629 Honiara Solomon Islands Tel: +(677) 21124 Fax: +(677) 23995 E-mail: [email protected] FFA Shelf-Stable Tuna Dynamics Study Dynamics Tuna Shelf-Stable FFA Suggested citation: 2 Havice, Elizabeth and Liam Campling (2018), Corporate Dynamics in the Shelf-stable Tuna Industry, Honiara: Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 1. INTRODUCTION 13 1.1 Background 13 1.2 Approach 13 2. GLOBAL OVERVIEW 14 2.1 Global processing capacity 14 2.2 Developments/key issues 17 3. CASE STUDY FIRMS 21 3.1 Thai Union 21 Study Dynamics Tuna Shelf-Stable FFA 3.1.1 Company overview 21 3.1.2 Company strategies 23 3.1.3 Links to WCPO 28 3.1.4 Recent changes and future developments 29 3.2 Dongwon Enterprise Co., Ltd. 33 3.2.1 Company overview 33 3.2.2 Company strategies 39 3.2.3 Links to WCPO 42 3.2.4 Recent changes and future developments 44 3.3 Bolton 45 3.3.1 Company overview 45 3.3.2 Company strategies 49 3.3.3 Links to WCPO 52 3.3.4 Recent changes and future developments 52 3 3.4 Princes 56 3.4.1 Company overview 56 3.4.2 Company strategies 58 3.4.3 Links to WCPO 62 3.4.4 Recent changes and future developments 62 3.5 Bumble Bee 64 3.5.1 Company overview 64 3.5.2 Company strategies 66 3.5.3 Links to WCPO 67 3.5.4 Recent changes and future developments 68 4. IMPLICATIONS FOR PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES 71 4.1 Case Study Firms 71 4.2 General Processing Industry 73 REFERENCES 76 APPENDIX 1 Trade Data - Thailand, US, EU 83 LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Case study firms 14 Table 2.1 Global canned tuna/cooked loins production (mt/day), 2017 15 Table 3.1 Thai Union – corporate timeline, with a focus on tuna and M&As 25 Table 3.2 Dongwon – corporate timeline, with a focus on tuna and M&As 37 Table 3.3 Price comparison Starkist, Blue Harbor, Bella Portofino 42 Table 3.4 Bolton Foods (Alimentari) – corporate timeline, with a focus on tuna and M&As 48 Table 3.5 Princes corporate timeline of major M&As and tuna-related activities 56 Table 3.6 Princes Group sales revenue by location, 2013-17* 62 Table 3.7 Bumble Bee timeline, focus on M&A 65 Table 4.1 Case study firm strategies 73 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 Thai Union sales and net income, 1991-2017* 23 Figure 3.2 Thai Union total sales by geographical region, 2013-2017 27 Figure 3.3 Pacifical MSC tuna packed by Thai Union for high-end Danish supermarket Irma 29 Figure 3.4 Dongwon Industries, revenue and net income, 1995-2017 35 Figure 3.5 Dongwon F&B, revenue and net income, 2002-2017 36 Figure 3.6 Blue Harbor and Portofino product imagery 42 Figure 3.7 Rio Mare, Saupiquet and Palmera product imagery 46 Figure 3.8 Bolton Alimentari sales and net income, 2007-2016 47 Figure 3.9 Princes sales and net income, 2007-2017* 58 Figure 3.10 Advertisement delineating quality of Bumble Bee albacore from ‘chunk light’ tuna 68 FFA Shelf-Stable Tuna Dynamics Study Dynamics Tuna Shelf-Stable FFA Figure 4.1 Skipjack Price and Net Profit of Case Study Firms 72 4 LIST OF BOXES Box 1 Labour standards and the tuna industry - from a Thailand focus to a global issue 31 Box 2 Sustainability developments in the canned tuna sector 54 Box 3 US price-fixing and can under-filling cases 70 ACRONYMS COSI Chicken of the Sea International M&A mergers and acquisitions CSR corporate social responsibility MSC Marine Stewardship Council DoJ US Department of Justice mt metric tonne EBITA Earnings before interest, tax and NGO non-government organisation amortization NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric EC European Commission Administration (US) EEZ exclusive economic zone PAFCO Pacific Fishing Company (Fiji) EPA Economic Partnership Agreement PET polyethylene terephthalate EPO Eastern Pacific Ocean PICs Pacific Island countries ETA Eastern Tropical Atlantic PNG Papua New Guinea Study Dynamics Tuna Shelf-Stable FFA EU European Union POC Pacific Operating Committee EUR Euro PS purse seine ESA Eastern and South Africa PTM Princes Tuna Mauritius FAD fish aggregation device RFMO Regional Fisheries Management FCF Fong Cherng Fishery Company Ltd. Organisation FFA Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency RFV Record of Fishing Vessels of the WCPFC FIP Fisheries Improvement Project RMI Republic of Marshall Islands FTA free trade agreement RoO Rules of Origin FRN Fishers’ Rights Network SIOTI Sustainable Indian Ocean Tuna FY financial year Initiative GBP Great Britain Pound SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community GRT gross registered tonnage SSTC South Seas Tuna Corporation GGGI Global Ghost Gear Initiative TDM Thon des Mascareignes 5 GSP Generalised System of Preferences THB Thai baht GSP+ EU Generalised System of Preferences TIP Trafficking in persons Plus TU Thai Union GT gross tonnage UK United Kingdom of Great Britain and HMR home-meal replacement Northern Ireland IEPA Interim Economic Partnership ULT ultra-low temperature Agreement USA United States of America ILO International Labour Organization USD United States dollar IO Indian Ocean VDS Vessel Day Scheme IOTC Indian Ocean Tuna Commission WCPFC Western and Central Pacific Fisheries ISSF International Seafood Sustainability Commission Foundation WCPO Western and Central Pacific Ocean ITF International Transport Workers WIO Western Indian Ocean IUU illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing WR whole round JV joint venture WWF World Wildlife Fund KFL Kiribati Fish Ltd EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides FFA members with industry and market intelligence on the current status of the shelf-stable (e.g. canned) tuna processing industry. It offers a global overview of processing capacity (providing data on volume and value of activities), new developments and key issues shaping the sector. It then conducts a focussed analysis of five case-study firms (three ‘major’ and two ‘minor’) to demonstrate the range of industry dynamics currently in play in the sector and to draw out implications for Pacific Island countries. The case study firms are: Thai Union, Dongwon Industries and Dongwon F&B, Bolton Foods, Princes, and Bumble Bee. Primarily through desk-based research, the analysis details operations, ownership and management structures, vertical integration such as brand ownership, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), major markets, financial performance, sustainability and labour initiatives, recent changes and future developments, WCPO business interests and links with Pacific Island countries. Global Overview and Key Developments Between 2008 and 2017, global tuna processing capacity (whole round and cooked loins) increased 12-13%. Over the same period, the total number of processing plants increased from 144 to at least 215. Whole round fish represents around 85% of raw material throughput and frozen cooked loins account for around 15%. Loins are mostly used by processors in the US mainland, Spain and Italy. Estimated global canned tuna processing capacity is around 13,700mt/day, requiring around 3 million mt of whole round fish (skipjack, yellowfin and albacore). In 2017, the top five canned tuna processing countries by volume were: 1) Thailand (3,490 mt/day); 2) Ecuador (1,635mt/day); 3) Spain (1,275 mt/ day); 4) Mexico (725 mt/day); and, 5) Philippines (510 mt/day). Thailand remains the world’s largest canned tuna processor, accounting for around 15% of production. Thailand does not have a significant tuna fishing fleet and so relies heavily on raw material imports, FFA Shelf-Stable Tuna Dynamics Study Dynamics Tuna Shelf-Stable FFA mainly from the WCPO, which exposes Thailand-based processors to risk during periods of high tuna prices. 6 The European Union is the world’s largest market for canned tuna. The market is supplied by producers inside the EU, mainly Spain (67%) and Italy (21%), and by imports, especially from countries with duty free access. The top three foreign suppliers are Ecuador, Seychelles and Mauritius. Import volumes from the Philippines and from Papua New Guinea have increase by 48% between 2013-2017. PNG and Solomon Islands loin imports accounted for, respectively, 9% (12,093mt) and 5% (6,477mt) of the EU’s total loin imports; volumes sourced from Solomon Islands, largely for Italy, grew 64% between 2013- 2017. Given that the UK is Europe’s largest imported canned tuna market, there is concern that Brexit might have a negative impact for exporters accessing that market. The United States remains the second largest shelf-stable tuna market. The market is supplied by two canning-only plants (i.e. that import frozen loins) in the mainland and from the US territory American Samoa, where whole round is also processed, and by finished goods imports from around 35 countries. The top three foreign suppliers are Thailand, Ecuador and Vietnam. Frozen cooked loin import volumes have declined since 2013, with Fiji as a significant supplier of albacore loins in the range of 11,000-12,000mt/year. Canned tuna processors continue to intersect with several long-standing concerns. The industry continues to struggle with overcapacity, with a majority of plants continuing to operate below full capacity, while new plant investments and expansions continue.
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    TIME FOR A SEA CHANGE Why union rights for migrant workers are needed to prevent forced labor in the Thai seafood industry INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUM MARCH 2020 INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUM (ILRF) The International Labor Rights Forum is a Washington, D.C.-based human rights organization founded in 1986. ILRF is dedicated to 1634 I ST NW, SUITE 1000 advancing dignity and justice for workers in the global economy. WASHINGTON, DC 20006 USA Author: Kimberly Rogovin T: +1 202 347 4100 Reviewers: Elena Arengo, Judy Gearhart and Charlotte Tate [email protected] Data collection: Pattramon Sukprasert WWW.LABORRIGHTS.ORG Editing: Liana Foxvog Layout: Amy Thesing ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ILRF would like to express sincere thanks to the following organizations who were interviewed for the case studies in this paper: the ITF-Fishers’ Rights Network (FRN), the Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN), and the State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation (SERC). ILRF would also like to thank the individuals who provided extremely valuable information and insight for this paper: Prung Deesri, Benjamin Harkins, Jon Hartough, Jason Judd, Suthasinee Kaewleklai, Sawit Kaewvarn, Ussarin Kaewpradap, Nattawut Kasem, Aung Kyaw, Darian McBain, Sarah Mount, Anna Olsen, Robert Pajkovski, Jackie Pollock, Phil Robertson, David Rousseau, Ame Sagiv, Papop Siamhan, Chonticha Tangworamongkon, Sujira Thiensathaporn, and Roisai Wongsuban. The views in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of these organizations or individuals. ILRF carried out this research with the support of Humanity United and The Freedom Fund. March 2020 COVER PHOTO: On May Day 2019, the State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation brought together Thai trade unionists and migrant workers affiliated with the Southern Seafood Industry Workers Group and the Migrant Workers Rights Network to demand full rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining for migrant workers in Thailand.