The cod industry under the Franco regime (1939-1975)

This paper studies the history of salt and dried Atlantic cod production in Spain throughout the Franco regime. Cod was a product traditionally imported into Spain, but during this period the country became one of the main producers. We first examine the cod fishing activity and the strong economic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista de Historia Industrial
Main Authors: Espido Bello, María del Carmen, Giráldez Rivero, Jesús
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:Spanish
Published: Universitat de Barcelona 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/HistoriaIndustrial/article/view/26796
Description
Summary:This paper studies the history of salt and dried Atlantic cod production in Spain throughout the Franco regime. Cod was a product traditionally imported into Spain, but during this period the country became one of the main producers. We first examine the cod fishing activity and the strong economic incentives deployed to promote it, the problems of setting up a specific fleet, the growth of landings and the start-up of a processing industry; then we analyze the stage of its maturity, changes in the cod fishing fleet, and the evolution of catches. Next we look at the processing industry, its production, location, size and developments. Finally, we study the Spanish foreign trade in cod and conditioning factors, with special attention given to economic policy related to the cod industry – a sector that went from producing cheap food for domestic consumption to targeting demand from outside markets. Este trabajo estudia la trayectoria de la producción de bacalao del Atlántico salado y seco, un producto tradicionalmente importado en España y del cual, durante el régimen franquista, el país se convirtió en uno de los principales productores. Comenzamos examinando la actividad extractiva y los fuertes estímulos económicos desplegados para su fomento, los problemas para la constitución de una flota específica, el crecimiento de las descargas y el arranque de una industria de procesado; después analizamos su etapa de madurez, los cambios en la flota y la evolución de las capturas. A continuación examinamos la industria transformadora, su producción, localización, dimensión y cambios. Finalmente estudiamos el comercio exterior español de bacalao y sus condicionantes, prestando atención a la política económica en torno a la cual giró la actividad bacaladera; una rama que pasó de estar destinada a proporcionar alimentos baratos al mercado interior a orientarse hacia la demanda procedente de los mercados exteriores.