Canned Tuna (Skipjack & Yellowfin: Chunk, Solid & Flake)

Skipjack and yellowfin in brine, oil or water, bought on drained weight and histamine

Canned tuna is bought on four things printed on the label and one that is not: the species, the form of presentation, the packing medium, the net and drained weight - and the histamine result on the certificate of analysis. Skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) is the light-meat volume pack for retail and wholesale, and yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) is the premium light meat for solid packs. Codex CXS 70-1981, the standard most importing authorities work from, recognises solid, chunk, flake and grated presentations - a solid pack is transverse segments with free flakes or chunks not exceeding 18% of drained weight - and sets histamine at no more than 10 mg/100 g on the average of the sample units. The retail sizes are 170 g and 185 g cans (48 to a carton) and the foodservice size is the 1.88 kg catering can; the buyer compares offers on drained weight, not net weight, because a 185 g can in brine and one in oil can hold different amounts of fish. Label claims carry their own paperwork: dolphin-safe under the Earth Island Institute programme or US rules, MSC chain of custody for certified skipjack, BPA-NI (non-intent) can lining for EU and North American retail, and halal certification by the destination's accepted certifier, issued per lot. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 1604.14 total USD 8.79 billion across reporters: Thailand USD 2.50 billion, Ecuador USD 1.41 billion and 287,894 MT, China USD 1.05 billion and 207,507 MT, Spain USD 797 million, the Philippines USD 418 million and 110,692 MT, Indonesia USD 347 million, Seychelles USD 274 million, Mauritius USD 247 million, Ghana USD 155 million and 29,466 MT, and Côte d'Ivoire USD 67 million and 11,957 MT. Thailand's destination list shows the Middle East and North Africa buying at scale: Libya 41,090 MT, Egypt 39,526 MT, Saudi Arabia 35,056 MT and the UAE 30,046 MT in 2024.

The buyer is an importer-distributor, a supermarket chain's private-label desk or a wholesaler in West Africa, the Gulf, North Africa or South Asia, and the offer is a price per carton for a stated can, pack, medium, drained weight and label. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers canned tuna from Thai, Ecuadorian, Philippine, Indonesian, Spanish, Mauritian, Seychellois, Ghanaian and Ivorian canneries, in the cannery's brand or the buyer's private label, against the competent-authority health certificate, the cannery's certificate of analysis for histamine and drained weight, an EU catch certificate for EU-bound product, a certificate of origin and label artwork checked against the destination's labelling rules before printing. Cartons of 48 cans are palletised or floor-loaded in 20-ft dry containers on FOB, CFR and CIF terms; no reefer is needed. Every lot is fish only - CBIL does not broker crab, lobster, oysters, other shellfish or molluscs - and is species-declared on the health certificate and label. Send the species, pack, medium, can size, drained weight, label claims, carton count and discharge port, and the enquiry is screened and worked against canneries that pack to it.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.