Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry explores adopting new financial instruments from European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has commissioned a preliminary assessment by Gaia Consulting Oy on the possibilities of adopting new financial instruments to improve the financing situation of the fisheries value chain. The preliminary assessment focuses primarily on fishing and fish farming, the catching and distribution of fish, and fish processing.
In the EU provisions on funds, the term ‘financial instrument’ is used to refer to repayable funds such as loans, guarantees or capital investments. Financial instruments can be used to help secure financing and increase the amount of funds available to businesses, particularly in sectors or industries where the availability of funds poses challenges. They are suitable for commercially profitable projects. The financial instruments would also support the renewal of the industry in the long term, as Member States could reuse the repaid funds.
At the moment, Finland’s neighbouring country Estonia is the only country to have adopted financial instruments from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Estonia has had positive experiences with the use of these instruments, and one objective of the preliminary assessment is to learn from the experiences of other countries.
The preliminary assessment will include a market analysis to identify any existing disturbances in the markets. The assessment will also look into the potential added value and leverage effects of the financial instruments and gather experiences from other countries. The analysis will be carried out in the form of a literature review, interviews and questionnaires. The preliminary assessment is set to be completed in summer 2019, and the results will be used in planning the upcoming EMFF programming period for 2021–2027.
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, financial instruments
Inquiries:
Heta Ratasvuori, Specialist
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Natural Resources Department, Commercial Fisheries Unit
firstname.lastname@mmm.fi, tel. +358 295162016
Mikko Halonen
Gaia Consulting Oy
firstname.lastname@gaia.fi, tel. +358 40 700 2190
