Evaluation of the existing and potential Latvian canned fish export markets

Latvia traditionally has been a major canned fish exporter. About 90% of domestic canned fish output had been exported. The share of canned fish in total Latvian processed foods export value stands at 15%. Declining Baltic Sea fish population and reduced quotas for fish catch creates a shortage of raw material for canning industry, as products are almost entirely produced from Baltic Sea species. As consumers in the export markets are becoming more affluent, a demand for quality products from ocean fish species increases. A restructuring of the canning industry output is necessary to maintain the production and export volumes. Traditionally, bulk of exports is shipped to five major markets - Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine and USA. These countries altogether account for nearly 70% of total canned fish exports. Exports to other, mainly landlocked, countries are marginal. Even in periods with depressed demand from major export destinations, efforts to diversify and increase export geography have failed. Therefore, only five major markets are worthwhile to provide exports strategy analysis. An evaluation of strategies in the export markets would be crucial in the restructuring process. The use of GE/McKinsey matrix would provide an appropriate mapping of the present and proposed future performance of Latvian canned fish products in the principal export markets. Albeit being a strategy management tool used for the assessment of the business unit’s performance in the various markets, the GE/McKinsey matrix can be successfully applied for the estimation of the given country’s industry sector’s export performance in export regions or countries. To adapt the matrix for the sector mapping, business unit performance is replaced by product competitiveness. Factors that are selected for characterizing the competitive advantages of sector and market attractiveness are modified accordingly. After the evaluation of the competitiveness of the products in particular markets, portraying of the markets on the matrix would ...