The President of SalmonChile, Cesar Barros, spoke in Norway on the recovery of the Chilean salmon industry. (Photo: SalmonChile/AquaGen/FIS)

Salmon industry expects to recover production level by 2013: SalmonChile

CHILE
Thursday, March 03, 2011, 23:50 (GMT + 9)

The president of the Association for the Chilean Salmon Industry A.G. (SalmonChile) has made the most of the sixth edition framework covering marine products by the North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF) held in Oslo, Norway, to highlight the recovery being experienced by the Chilean salmon industry.

At this important international event, Cesar Barros said the industry projected to produce around 400,000 tonnes of salmon by 2013, a figure close to that recorded before the crisis caused by the spread of the infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus in 2007.

For this year, it is estimated that Chilean production will reach roughly 185,000 tonnes.

The upward trend was supported by the CEO of Aquagen, Odd Magne.

"Projections by Kontali and Aquagen specialists, and those carried out by ourselves, see a resergunce in Chilean production, as by around 2013, Chile will resume levels of production that were last witnessed in 2007," claims Barros.

He also noted that Norway is working at 90 per cent of its production capacity, as Chile will have an important role as the industrial leader in the near future.

"Soon we will open the XII Region for cultivation and that will give us a crucial amount of extra space," said the Chilean leader.

In his view, four currently developing countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) - will be the centers for demand in the future. Especially Brazil, as it has doubled its consumption over the last 10 years.

"By 2013, it is possible that we will export 60,000 tonnes to that country. If Brazil continues to grow as it has done so far, it will absorb a very important part of Chilean output growth," said Barros, according to Diario Financiero.

"In our case, Brazil is very important, because we have zero tariffs with that country, unlike the Norwegians, who have a tariff of 10 per cent," he continued explaining.

For his part, the President of Invertec Pesquera Mar de Chiloe (Invermar), Mario Montanari, declared that in Chile, "with current cultivation techniques, we can reach one million tonnes of salmon production in the medium term, but with the new areas that are currently in development, that number can be overcome."

"While the world population is growing at 2.5 per cent, aquaculture is increasing by 8 per cent, it is one of the fastest expanding sectors, and soon we hope to be in double digits," he said.

He also stressed that Latin America is the region with the most potential and that Chile is home to over 50 per cent of aquaculture production in the region.

"We have controlled the disease completely, with unrestricted practices and the necessary capacity. Our margins, along with the prices of salmon, have doubled, and it will continue to rise, which has appeased the rise in production costs for the new model." said the businessman, according to Estrategia.

This year it is expected that Invermar will double its production, as in 2010 they reached almost 10,000 tonnes.

"In 2011, we will reach around 21,500 tonnes, to achieve our plan of 40,000 tonnes by 2016," Montanari said.

"We are looking at all possible angles. We have had discussions with the Brazilians, Ecuadorians, Colombians and Costa Ricans. But there is nothing definite, as for now, in 2011, we are concentrated in Chile," he concluded.

Related article:

- Recovery for salmon industry slated for 2011

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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