Atlantic salmon for export. (Photo: IFOP)
During the first eight months of 2014, fishery and aquaculture product exports from Chile reached USD 3,688.9 million. This figure represents a rise of 20.6 per cent compared to the same period of 2013, when USD 3,059.63 million had been obtained.
The volume of exports experienced a decline of 0.9 per cent, changing from 819,200 tonnes in 2013 to 812,200 tonnes this year, the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SUBPESCA) reported.
Sales of frozen products were the most voluminous, constituting 48.7 per cent of the total, according to SUBPESCA latest Sector Report on Fisheries and Aquaculture. Then, fishmeal (21.2 per cent), refrigerated fresh products (14.5 per cent) and dried seaweed (7.2 per cent) were located.
The main increases in FOB prices were in the lines of frozen and fresh refrigerated products, which recorded increases of 39.3 per cent and 13.1 per cent respectively, while fishmeal and fish oil prices fell.
According to SUBPESCA statistics, the main exported product was Atlantic salmon, which accounted for 48.3 per cent (USD 1,781 million) of the total value of exports abroad. It was followed by Pacific salmon (10.5 per cent), rainbow trout and pelagic fish.
Chilean products were destined for 105 countries, of which the nine major ones accounted for 77.2 per cent of total exports. These included the US, Japan, Brazil, China and Russia.
With respect to the capture sector, the accumulated value of fish exports (381,800 tonnes) between January and August 2014 amounted to USD 825.6 million, a figure that is slightly higher (0.8 per cent) than that in the same period last year.
In the first eight months, 138,470 tonnes of fishmeal were sold abroad for USD 208.8 million while a year earlier 140,410 tonnes had exported for USD 259.6 million.
The prime variety of fishmeal represented the largest volume, with 61 per cent of total exports; followed by the super prime one and the standard one with 30.4 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.
The prime fishmeal variety until August generated a total of USD 125.6 million; the super prime one made USD 71.3 million, and the standard fishmeal produced USD 13.7 million.
The most important destinations of fishmeal were China, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Vietnam.
The sales of frozen seafood products totalled USD 2,025.3 million, which represented a 22.9 per cent increase over the same period of 2013 (USD 1,647.5 million).
These products were shipped mainly to Japan, the US and Russia, for USD 648.4 million, USD 296.3 million and USD 141.7 million, respectively.
As for canned products, the sales made in the first eight months of 2014 totalled USD 58.8 million, 22.8 per cent less than in the previous year (USD 76.2 million).
The Aquaculture sector exports accounted for 76.6 per cent of the total value of sales abroad and 53 per cent of the total exported volume between January and August this year, with USD 2,863 million and about 430,300 tonnes. The current rating shows a 27.8 per cent increase over that recorded during the last year at this time.