The Official State Gazette (BOE) has published the long-awaited call for aid to the fishing and aquaculture processing industry. These aids, framed in the European funds of the PRTR, have an initial allocation of 20 million euros, which can be extended up to 40 million, according to budget availability, according to ANFACO-CECOPESCA.
Companies in the sector have 30 days to submit projects to adapt their factories to the new challenges in terms of sustainability and digitalization.
An achievement after a long process After the request initiated by ANFACO-CECOPESCA in June 2022, finally the seafood processing industry now has a specific project to support investments within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR). After noting the exclusion of this activity in the Agri-Food PERTE on the occasion of the European Regulation 651/2014, the demand of ANFACO-CECOPESCA was unanimous and shared by the sector to find a solution that needed the preparation of a specific dossier from the Government of Spain to the European Commission requesting the authorization of the instrument.
The commitment, acquired with the canning industry by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, was transmitted in September 2022 to the sector, and the General Secretariat of Fisheries took a leading role in the dialogue, to obtain a favorable response from Brussels in early 2024, as indicated by the responsible in Boiro (A Coruña) during a meeting with ANFACO-CECOPESCA last February.
Details of the Royal Decree The draft Royal Decree was submitted for public consultation on May 10, 2024, and the Bases were published on July 9, 2024, adapting those aspects that were required under technical justification. The call for aid published will allow the fishery and aquaculture processing sector to access funding for projects involving an investment of more than 1.5 million euros and to be executed with a final deadline of June 30, 2026.
The aid may cover up to 50% of the investment cost, with a maximum amount of five million euros. These aids are aimed at energy efficiency measures.
The objective is to achieve a total participation of the sector, exhausting the available funds and being able to mobilize up to 100 million euros of investment. In statements by Roberto Alonso, general secretary: “After two years of effort and monitoring, today materializes the call for the so-called PERTE MAR-INDUSTRIA, a name that ANFACO-CECOPESCA has promoted to highlight the relevance of the seafood processing industry. This is a crucial step to correct a series of historical discriminations in European regulations. While we have already made progress on de minimis aid, our next goal is to reform the European state aid regulation. In the meantime, this call reinforces the competitiveness of Spanish factories, guaranteeing employment and future thanks to the Next Generation funds. We are confident that processors will take advantage of these resources and that it will be necessary to increase the budget of the call to 40 million euros, demonstrating that the sector is ready to invest and prosper, provided it is provided with the right tools and legal framework”.
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