Fishmeal bags. (Photo: Stock File)
CHILEFriday, February 06, 2015, 21:40 (GMT + 9)
Exports of fishery and aquaculture products in Chile reached USD 5.62 billion to November 2014. This represents a rise of 17.4 per cent over the same period in 2013, when USD 4.79 billion were obtained.
The volume exported also experienced an increase of 5.1 per cent, from 1.1 million tonnes in 2013 to 1.2 million tonnes last year, the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SUBPESCA) reported.
Sales of frozen products and fishmeal were the most voluminous, representing 51.3 per cent and 19.2 per cent, respectively, according to the latest Sectoral Report on Fisheries and Aquaculture by SUBPESCA.
Following stand refrigerated fresh products (15.1 per cent) and fish oil (6.5 per cent), among others.
According to statistics by SUBPESCA, the main export was Atlantic salmon, which accounted for 50 per cent of the total value of sales abroad. It was followed by rainbow trout and Pacific salmon.
Chilean products were destined for 110 countries, of which the nine major ones accounted for 77.6 per cent of total exports. Among them, the United States, Japan, Brazil, Russia and China stand out.
With respect to the fishing sector, the accumulated value of fish exports reached between January and November 2014 USD 1.3 billion, reflecting a positive variation of 4 per cent compared with the same period last year.
In the first 11 months, 234,135 tonnes of fishmeal worth USD 378.4 million were sold abroad, while a year earlier 221,160 tonnes worth USD 390.1 million were exported.
The most important destinations of fishmeal were China, Japan and South Korea.
Foreign sales of frozen seafood products totalled USD 558.3 million, which represented a rise of 3.9 per cent over the same period in 2013. These products were mainly sent to Japan, Nigeria and the United States.
As for canned products, sales in the first 11 months of 2014 totalled USD 73.3 million, 9.5 per cent lower than a year earlier. The main markets were Venezuela, Spain and Sri Lanka.
Aquaculture sector exports accounted for 77.5 per cent of the total value of foreign sales and 54.4 per cent of total exports volume between January and November last year, with USD 4.36 billion and nearly 664,900 tonnes.