Monthly newsletter of the tuna fishing industry

Twenty years from today children may never know what a tuna cannery is. It will still be "a stink, a grinding noise" (as Steinbeck described
it) but there will be no more cans. On June 15, 2000, Star Kist, the No. I brand in the United States unveiled "Tuna in a Pouch " scheduled to
appear in retail stores sometime in September. The 7ounce pouch of "Light Tuna in Sunflower Oil Rich in Vitamin E and Low in Saturated
Fat... " opens a whole new world of possibilities to the industry. In the 21' Century, the traditional tuna cannery becomes a thing of the past.

ConAgra Inc., the secondlargest U.S. food company, agreed at the end of June to buy International Home Foods Inc. (IHF) for $2.9 billion,
adding Bumble Bee tuna to its profitable packaged food business. Bumble Bee was acquired out of bankruptcy by IHF in July 1997.
Bumble Bee has about 23% of the U.S. market. ConAgra said it will pay US$22 a share, half in cash and half in stock. They will take on
$1.3 billion in International Home Foods debt. ConAgra is trying to boost sales at its packaged food unit, which generated a third of the
company's $24.6 billion in revenue last year.

International Home Foods brands include six that each generate $100 Million a year in sales. The Parsippany, a NewJersey based
company had $2.14 billion 'in revenue last year, and it also makes Gulden's mustard, Libby's canned meats, Jiffy popcorn, as well as
Bumble Bee Tuna. It has been reported that International Home Foods' sales have gained an average of 28 percent the past three years.
Even so, earnings have tumbled an average of 25 percent as costs rose. During the past five years, ConAgra's sales have risen less than I
percent, and profit has declined an average of 3.9%. Since May 1999, ConAgra has been closing dozens of plants and firing workers in a
plan to save $600 million a year. According to a Prudential Securities analyst, "IHF and ConAgra have complimentary product lines and
there's a tremendous opportunity for savings". The acquisition is still subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and is expected to
close in the third quarter. Late last year, Bumble Bee hired former Heinz European Seafood Managing Director Mr. Christopher Lyschewski
as President of Bumble Bee (Crow's Nest November 1999).

On June 15, 2000, StarKist unveiled its new "Tuna in a Pouch". StarKist will begin selling the product in stores in September. Mr. Donald J.
"Don" Binnotto, managing director of Starkist Seafood said that selling tuna in a pouch is the biggest innovation in the industry since
canned tuna was introduced in the 1920s. "Based on the strong consumer preference for our pouch, Starkist Seafood expects the pouch to
expand the U.S. tuna category by 4 to 6 points over the next two years with this exciting product launch," Don said.

The 7ounce packages will be sold in three varieties: premium albacore *in water; chunk light tuna 'in water, and chunk light tuna in
sunflower oil, which is low in saturated fat and high *in vitamin E. The suggested retail price is $1.99 for the chunk light varieties and $2.79
for the albacore. The pouch is designed for families and provides enough tuna for four sandwiches. Starkist said its "Tuna in a Pouch" is
firmer and freshertaster than the canned variety because it requires less cooking and processing.

StarKist also plans to 'invest more than $20 million in a national advertising and marketing campaign to promote "Tuna *in a Pouch" to
include television and print advertising featuring "Charlie the Tuna". This is a radical transformation that the industry needed quite badly.
Mr. Christopher Lyschewski in his INFOFISH presentation last May reported that "since 1990, the three major tuna brands have spent a
total of $14 million on television, radio, print, and outdoor media. This is an average of less than $1.5 million per year." Mr. Lyschewski
compared this to the U.S. chicken industry spending $86.5 million and the U.S. Beef industry spending which is $25 million. Mr. Paul
Krampe, United Tuna Cooperative (UTC) executive director also said that: "If actions are not taken to improve the appearance of a can of
chunk light tuna and if more creative marketing of the product does not take place soon, we will never see improvements in the business.
We will continue the same current game of beating up each other trying to squeeze more profits out of a mature and relatively stagnant
market."

On June 19, Impress Metal Packaging Holdings, headquartered in Amsterdam, announced that it has entered into an agreement to
acquire all of the H.J. Heinz Company canmaking assets in North American and form a global strategic relationship with Heinz. Under the
agreement, Impress, a world leader in the metal packaging industry, would acquire and operate all five of Heinz's North American
canmaking operations located within Heinz's food processing plants in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania; Terminal Island,, California; American
Samoa; and Puerto Rico; including one standalone end (lid) making and coated sheet facility in Weirton, West Virginia. Together these five
plants employ approximately 920 people. Impress expects to complete the acquisition in early August 2000. Terms of the acquisition were
not disclosed. The agreement remains subject to various conditions, 'including receipt of necessary consents, final negotiation of related
agreements and financing. 10year Supply Agreements for all Heinz metal food can requirements at its StarKist Seafood and Heinz Pet
Products facilities throughout North America. Impress employs over 7000 people in 39 plants throughout 14 countries. In Europe, Impress
was awarded a sole supplier contract for Heinz Seafood canneries in France, Portugal, and the Seychelles. To reduce freight and inventory
costs, Impress constructed a wall towall facility in the Seychelles to produce halfpound tuna cans. In January 2000, to support Heinz's drive
to improve product convenience, Impress entered into a multiyear contract with He' z Europe in the Grocery Market. Under that agreement,
Impress is annually supplying two billion ends, *including one billion of the newlyintroduced, userfriendly ring pull Easy Open lids.
The sale of Heinz CanMaking Operations to Impress Metal and its introduction of "tuna in pouches" is a sign that Heinz is focusing more
on more convenience packaging. The company has been closing and consolidating plants and using the savings to promote new
products, such as Boston Marketbrand frozen meals and side dishes.

At the June IATTC meeting in San Jose Costa Rica, two ETP quotas were set for this year: the CYRA yellowfin tuna quota was set at
265,000 MT (the same as last year). The bigeye tuna quota was set based on dates, not FAD's for bigeye from September 15' through
December 15'. At the present time, all tuna vessel operators are waiting to see what the other tuna vessel operators will do on September
15, 2000. According to IATTC reports, the total yellowfin catch in the ETP as of June 26, 2000 was 144,284 MT, compared to 158,379 MT for
the same period 1999. The skipjack catch in the ETP for the same period in 2000 was 149,357 MT, compared to 136,768 MT in 1,999. The
bigeye catch in the ETP for the same period in 2000 was estimated at 39,999 MT.CN