Ireland trails behind other European states in adding value to seafood, a consultancy report for the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources has found.

The unit value of Irish fish exports is 38 per cent below the average across the European Economic Area (EEA) and 43 per cent below that in the EU, says the report by Indecon International Economic Consultants in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Minister, Mr Fahey, who received the report in Rossaveal, Co Galway, yesterday, said weaknesses in the industry "must be tackled", with the assistance of £31 million (#39 million) earmarked in the National Development Plan.

Marketing expertise in companies is "thin on the ground", there are problems with quality and continuity of raw material and with economies of sale, he said in a comment on the findings.

Average turnover of Irish fish processing in 1997 was just more than half that in Norway, the report says, at 3.7 million ecu per company here compared to 6.6 million ecu in the Scandinavian state. Ireland has Europe's second largest sea area, but takes just over 5 per cent of the EU catch. More than 90 per cent of fish landings are exported, contributing almost £250 million to the economy. In highlighting the low value added to those exports, the report makes a series of recommendations for commercially-caught and farm-reared fish and shellfish, to meet the growing demand for seafood in northern Europe.

A comparative analysis of the seafood processing sector in the EEA by the consultants notes that Ireland ranks eighth in terms of average level of gross value added per enterprise. The average size of enterprises here is about half the EU average, at 30 employees compared to about 62 elsewhere. Average labour productivity is below that of Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Germany, France and Finland.