If further restrictions were placed on the imports of frozen 

 cooked tima in cans — and use of the pre duct is found to be 

 feasible ~ then canners, in the short view, might consider them- 

 selves deprived of an added and possibly more desirable raw materialo 

 In the long view, however, it seems almost certain that the importa- 

 tion and the successful and profitable canning cf this product is 

 one of the greatest threats to the domestic canning industry as it 

 is now constituted, (importation cf frozen cooked loins presents 

 the same threat, but to a lesser degree^ since packing equipment not 

 normal to other food canning plants is requiredo ) There appears to 

 be no reason why ar^y- fruit cr vegetable canner, or, for that natter, 

 almost ar^y food canner, could not complete the processing of 

 frozen cooked tuna in cans as readily as tuna cariners. 



They might do it more advantageously if the canned tuna shared 

 overhead and marketing costs with the packers' major productso 

 Custom canning also might occur and make it possible for large 

 btjyers to circumvent the usual marketing channels o 



In summary, further restrictions on imports of frosen round tuna 

 or frozen cooked loins would increase canners' costs and limit their 

 ability to supply their markets o Lowering tariffs on imported t'una 

 or tunalike fishes canned in oil or brine vrould create greater 

 market competition which might be offset by increased demando A 

 trend toward, and the successful utilization of, imported frozen 

 cooked tuna in cans might aid canners at first, but probably'" would 

 eventually make canned tuna a byproduct of other canned food plants. 

 Thus, the tuna canning industry faces problems T«diich, at worst, 

 could force the canning operation to foreign countries or transfer 

 it to other food canning industries in this countryo 



U28 



