The number of salmonids Chile sent abroad in the first half of 2025 fell 1.5 percent year over year to 361,000 metric tons (MT).
Over the same period, the value of those exports rose 3 percent to USD 3.09 billion (EUR 2.63 billion), Chile’s Salmon Council recently reported, citing the latest information from the country’s National Customs Service.
According to the council, the numbers clearly show that the industry has been hampered in its ability to grow at a significant rate.
“An industry that can be projected into the future needs to grow, and salmon, which is Chile's second most exported product, registered an approximate growth of only 3 percent. While there have been some political signals recognizing the value of salmon and the importance of its development, marginal change is not enough,” Salmon Council Executive President Loreto Seguel said in a release. “Meeting this challenge requires strategic vision, clear rules, and a genuine growth agenda. In short, we need a robust state policy.”
Calling the nation’s salmon growth “stagnant,” she said that “it is time to correct this imbalance with a clear state policy that promotes [the salmon industry’s] development.”
This call is just the latest the council has made urging the nation’s government to more clearly define its stance on the future of the Chilean aquaculture sector and establish a countrywide vision on salmon-farming development.
According to the council’s analysis of the salmon sent abroad, Atlantic salmon accounted for 68.9 percent of exports during the first half of the year.
After three years of increases, coho salmon registered a 5.2 percent drop during the six-month period, which mainly corresponds to a decrease in volume sent to Japan. Shipments surpassing 100,000 MT left coho with a 31.1 percent share of the total, which was 1 percent less than the same period in 2025.
As for the destination of those exports, volumes exported to the United States increased 4.2 percent and spiked 2.2 percent to Brazil, consolidating both countries as the main purchasers of Chilean salmon.
Exports to Japan registered a 17.6 percent drop in the period, but shipments to Russia doubled, rising from 11,000 MT to 22,000 MT year over year.
The Chilean Salmon Council is a trade association that brings together five of the main salmon-producing companies in Chile: AquaChile, Australis Seafoods, Cermaq, Mowi, and Salmones Aysén. Its mission is to promote competitive and sustainable salmon farming and strengthen public-private collaboration.
Some of the Salmon Council’s efforts this year to aid in the industry’s growth have included attempts to integrate more local grain into fish feed, introduce Chilean coho into French cuisine, launching an interactive e-book detailing the health and environmental benefits of consuming salmon, and assisting in salmon-farming firms’ goals to implement AI-based solutions throughout the different processes of production.
