The Regional Secretary for Natural Resources revealed on Wednesday that the Government of the Azores has been establishing contacts with the European Commission and the Portuguese State in order to safeguard the interests of regional canneries under the trade negotiations taking place between the European Union and Thailand.

"The Government of the Azores is fully aware of the importance of the canning industry" as well as of risks posed by a possible liberalisation of trade with Thailand, said Luís Neto Viveiros. The government official spoke at the Legislative Assembly during the discussion of a resolution project presented by PSD.

This initiative, which was approved by unanimity, is the result of taken by the Legislative Assembly of the Azores towards the exclusion of canneries in the negotiations with Thailand.

Luís Neto Viveiros mentioned the existence of four canneries in the Azores that process an annual average of 20 thousand tonnes of tuna; they employ nearly 800 people, mostly women.

Considering Thailand's capacity of producing canned goods cheaper than those produced in the EU, where health, hygiene and labour standards are higher, the Government of the Azores expressed this concern to the Minister of Agriculture, Sea, Environment and Spatial Planning, Assunção Cristas, in Lisbon in April this year.

This meeting was followed by another that was held in May between the Regional Director for Fisheries and the Director-General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services to agree on a strategy for the defence of canneries against a country that is one of the world's leading producers of canned fish, especially canned tuna.

Like the national and Spanish associations, the Government of the Azores will defend in a document to be submitted to Brussels that canned tuna should be considered as a sensitive product and thus be excluded from the negotiation process. The Government will sustain some of the arguments already conveyed to Commissioner Maria Damanaki during her recent visit to the Region.