The Economic Performance of the EU Aquaculture Sector (STECF 13-29)

This report, on the Economic Performance of the European Union (EU) Aquaculture sector, is the third report of this type produced for the sector. It provides a comprehensive overview of the latest information available on the structure, social, economic and competitive performance of the aquaculture sector at both national and EU level. The data used in this publication was collected under the Data Collection Framework (DCF). In 2011, the aquaculture sector production in the EU-28 accounted for 1.28 million tonnes, with an estimated value of 3.51 billion Euros. In the EU there are about 14 to 15 thousand companies whose main activity is the aquaculture production, producing a Gross Value Added of more than 1.5 billion Euros. Available data confirms the profitability improvement in 2011 following 2010, after suffering losses in 2008-9. Profitability based on the Return On Investment calculated from the EBIT was 10%. The EU aquaculture sector gave direct employment to more than 80,000 people in Europe, with an annual average wage of around 23 thousand Euros. Women accounted for 27% of these jobs. The large percentage of part-time work in the sector should be highlighted, as can be seen through comparison of the total employment numbers with employment expressed in Full Time Equivalents (FTE is 45% of the total number of employees). Part-time employment is important in the shellfish and freshwater aquaculture subsectors. The economic performance and the productivity differ enormously by subsector and segment. The cost structures of the different subsectors (i.e. shellfish, marine and freshwater aquaculture) and species are also analysed on the report.