In late April, Chile’s National Fisheries Service declared a state of alert in the northern Aysén Region after the infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus was detected in cages belonging to the companies Agrosuper and Multiexport. Furthermore, inspections revealed high levels of the Aligus Rogercresseyi parasite in the same cages, forcing the immediate harvest of the cages in question and causing the shares of the companies involved and other salmon farmers to drop. It also raises doubts as to the extent of the local industry's recovery from the 2007 ISA virus crisis.
The Chilean salmon industry continues to make strong sales and is one of the most important export sectors in the country. SalmonChile, the national association of salmon farmers, says salmon exports in 2012 totaled USD 2.05 billion, of which USD 1.35 billion (EUR 1.04 billion) was Atlantic salmon and USD 698 million (EUR 537.5 million) cohos. The total value of exports, which constitute the vast majority of sales, was up slightly over 2011, showing an overall increase of just over USD 100 million (EUR 77 million).
According to Central Bank data, salmon exports can be broken down into the following categories: Fresh or refrigerated fillets: 74,082 metric tons (MT) in 2012, up from 41,391 MT in 2011. However, the average price went from USD 9,856 per MT to USD 7,015. In addition, it should be noted that the price gradually declined over the course of 2012, averaging USD 6,162 per MT in the last quarter of the year.
Exports of other forms of fresh and refrigerated salmon totaled 55,831 MT in 2012, also a significant increase over 2011’s total of 39,674 MT. Prices fell dramatically too, from an average of USD 6,271 (EUR 4,828) per MT in 2011 to USD 4,617 (EUR 3,554) per MT in 2012, though again the year showed a continual decline in price, ending the year at USD 4,274 (EUR 3,290) per MT.
Frozen salmon exports showed a similar uptick, with exports of frozen fillets totaling 41,218 MT in 2012, up from 24,399 MT the year before. But prices also fell, from USD 9,491 (EUR 7,311) per MT in 2011 to USD 6,957 (EUR 5,360) per MT. Prices dropped even further to USD 5,936 (EUR 4,574) per MT in the fourth quarter of 2012. Other frozen salmon product forms were up from 145,289 MT in 2011 to 171,135 MT last year, with prices falling from USD 6,273 (EUR 4,833) per MT to USD 5,406 (EUR 4,165) in 2012. It should be noted that the most remarkable drop came in the last quarter, when the price was just USD 3,916 (EUR 3,016) per MT. Marginal amounts of smoked and other forms of preserved salmon are also exported.
SalmonChile noted that 40 percent of exports go to Japan, followed by the United States with 22 percent and Brazil with 14 percent. The institution also projected continuing strong sales fueled by demand in Asia and, in particular, China.
