Farmed salmon exports from Chile are on the rise. However, Chilean suppliers are employing a cautious outlook for the next couple of years. Buyers should brace themselves for an upward trend in prices as the industry tries to increase profits despite rising production costs.
Chile is the world’s second biggest producer of Atlantic salmon after Norway, with its main markets of Japan, China and the United States showing no signs of slowing demand. In the first half of 2013, Chile exported 150,500 metric tons (MT) of Atlantic salmon — 51.1 percent more than the same period in 2012 — at an average of USD 8.35 (EUR 6.14) per kilogram, or 1.4 percent more than last year.
The farmed salmon industry also contributes significantly to economic growth in the country, contributing 4 percent of total exports and more than 56 percent of total fisheries exports from Chile, according to a white paper report on the 2012 Chilean salmon industry released by Cluster Collaborations. After a drastic downturn, Chile’s share of worldwide salmon exports have recovered and the market share is fast approaching the 40 percent mark.
An outbreak of infectious salmon anemia (ISA) in 2007 devastated the industry, but the rebound — thanks to increased government regulation, more R&D, better collaboration between farming “neighborhoods” and improved pest control and monitoring — has been impressive. There was another ISA outbreak in April of this year, but it affected only 1 percent of the industry’s biomass, according to SalmonChile. Early detection and harvesting curtailed another possible disaster, the producers’ organization said.
A July report published by Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research suggests that the Chilean salmon aquaculture industry is set for significant growth — 20 percent in 2013. Between 2014 and 2016 this growth is expected to slow down or even stop, according to Rabobank.
“2012 was a difficult year for the salmon industry in Chile, mainly resulting from the significant drop in international prices,” reports GlobeFish, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s fisheries department. “At the end of 2012 the average Atlantic salmon prices were USD 6,230 (EUR 4.582) per metric ton, a 26.2 percent drop in comparison with 2011.”
“Since late last year there has been an active recovery in the price of Atlantic salmon," says Blumar S.A. commercial manager Eduardo Goycoolea. The company reported USD 41 million (EUR 30.2 million) worth of income from its aquaculture business during the first quarter of 2013, up 14 percent from the same period in 2012. “Our aquaculture business grew from 41 percent of total revenues to 44 percent.”
“The health status of the industry in general has been affected by outbreaks of ISA, high rates of sea lice infestation and persistent low oxygen [as a result of] high water temperatures. This has meant an increase in costs for Blumar SA salmon products and high mortal[ity rates],” said Goycoolea. With Norway’s output contracting, Chilean farmed salmon’s future is strong, especially now that health regulations form such an integral part of the business model.
