Tuna producers in Ecuador may have to switch to new packaging to avoid heavy taxes on future canned tuna exports to the United States.

Under proposals for the new Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA), only one Ecuadorian tuna company, Empesec, would be exempt from the tariffs imposed by the US because its product sells in bags, or pouches.

The issue is causing concern among tuna producers who, according to Ecuador's Foreign Trade Minister, Richard Moss, must adapt to suit the vast and highly lucrative North American market.

The ATPA was introduced by the US in 1991 to try to end trade in illegal produce. It provided preferences for over 6,000 products from countries along the west coast of South America which were allowed into the US either without tax or with reduced tariffs.

The Act is currently being renewed and is under discussion by the US House of Representatives. According to the Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo, the foreign trade minister acknowledged that there is dissatisfaction with the new ATPA.

"There is a disagreement," he said. "It is true that the law benefits other countries more, but we should try to adapt so that it benefits us too in the future."

He recommended that the tuna industry adapt itself to the new situation by investing in its production systems and switching from canning to producing pouched tuna.