Market integration of domestic and imported seafood: Insights from the Sydney Fish Market*

Abstract

Australia has experienced a significant increase in seafood imports over the past two decades. Concurrently, Australian seafood producers have raised concerns that the low market prices of imported fish may negatively affect the prices of domestically produced seafood and, subsequently, the profitability of the Australian fishing industries. To validate this concern, this study examines the relationship between prices of domestically produced seafood and imported fish. Price data from the Sydney Fish Market (SFM), Australia's largest auction wholesale fish market and fish import data are used for a cointegration analysis which is conducted using the bivariate Johansen test. Results indicate that prices of most domestic species traded within the SFM are not cointegrated, implying that they largely develop independently of each other. However, imported fish, particularly fresh imports, were found to be cointegrated with Australian produced fresh fish supplies traded on the SFM. Although the law of one price (LOP) was only confirmed to hold for some price pairs, the results suggest a partial substitution relationship between imports and domestically caught fish. This implies that prices of domestically produced fish within the Australian market are likely impacted by price dynamics within the international seafood market.

Nature of property rights and motivation for blue growth: An empirical evidence from the fisheries industry

“…On the other hand, with smaller quantiles, the impact of market size is becoming more significant. This supports the findings of Climent-Pérez et al ( 2023), Schrobback et al (2022), andPincinato, Gasalla, et al (2022);Pincinato, Oglend, et al (2022), which showed that market efficiency drives the fisheries sector to attain sustainable competitiveness. Additionally, in the medium and most recent quantiles, there is a strong and positive correlation between the results of intellectual property rights and fisheries productivity.…”

“…This supports the growth theory for the panel of nations that produce fisheries. The main finding of Climent‐Pérez et al (2023), and Schrobback et al (2022)—that market size has a positive and inelastic influence on the growth of the fisheries industry—is echoed by this outcome. The European fish industry is thriving for several reasons, chief among them the increasing spending by Europeans on fish and shellfish despite their higher pricing.…”

“…It was examined in Indonesia by Nurlita et al (2021) and Najib and Nawangsari (2021), who also proposed a complete and cohesive plan and coordinated and harmonized policies for the sustainability of the blue economy. According to Climent-Pérez et al (2023), andSchrobback et al (2022), sustainable fisheries refer to the marketing and distribution of fish products through aquaculture or wild catch in ways that would not harm the long-term sustainability of species while also securing the future of the marine ecosystem. The influence of market development on the expansion of the Asian fisheries sector was examined by Malto and Dumilag (2023), Shimose andKanaiwa (2022), andMacusi et al (2022), who concluded that an efficient fisheries management plan is crucial to the sustainability of the fisheries market.…”