96 per cent of mussel rafts have been closed in Galicia due to the red tide. (Photo: Stock File/FIS)
SPAIN
Monday, August 25, 2014, 02:20 (GMT + 9)
Mussel sector representatives estimate that in a week retail could be affected by the lack of the resource.
The red tide has forced canning firms and factories to stop their production, which can lead the market to become undersupplied soon.
If the red tide continues, producers warn that the demand will increasingly exceed the supply of the product.
According to Angeles Longa Portabales, R&D Director in the Mussel Regulatory Council of Galicia, 96 per cent of the farming platforms are closed and they have had to suspend the promotion campaign announced in early August, Europa Press reported.
On the other hand, the president of the Mussel Sector Association Virgen de Rosario of Vilaxoán, Javier Blanco, explained that in a normal situation 300 bags are collected but now only 150 bags are sent for sale.
At the moment there are no shortages, and the supply is guaranteed through next week.
He also said that so far "it has not been detected" that the Galician mussel has been replaced by foreign molluscs.
From the Control Board, its chairperson Francisco Alcalde acknowledged that the sector is facing the situation with "great pessimism."
"The forecasts are difficult and in this case there are not very good prospects for the situation to change," he stated to EFE agency.
"There will be polygons that will be closed for long periods. It's a blow to the industry," he lamented.
Covadonga Salgado, director of the Technological Institute of Marine Environment Control of Galicia (INTECMAR), explained that when a production area is closed, "the issuance of the registration document is locked, a kind of identity document accompanying the product batch."
He also confirmed that "it is an important event," since there is a significant number of species of toxins that the molluscs have accumulated inside.
Related article:
- Red tide hits the Galician canning industry