Though US still remains country’s biggest customer.
Chile’s salmon exports are continuing to grow at an impressive rate according to Economía y Negocios. With information from the consultancy DataSalmon, the shipments totaled 459 thousand tons and exceeded USD 2.5 billion in the period January-September 2018, an amount that translated into an increase of 10.6%, compared to the same period of the previous year.
Shipments to North America, the main destination for this product, reached USD 1.4 billion in sales in this period, while sales to Brazil reached USD 426 million.
However it was Russia and China that made the biggest jump this year from last. In the case of Russia, shipments in volume totaled 45 thousand tons, while 33 thousand tons were exported to the Asian giant, which meant an increase of 80% and 83.3%, respectively. Both markets clocked up USD 474 million.
Read more: SalmonChile president: “We are not in a race against Norway”
The president of SalmonChile, Arturo Clément, told the publication that “both markets are very attractive for local salmon, but the demand in China has been really impressive and is just beginning.” In the case of Russia, the important presence of the national salmon is marked by the embargo that that country imposed on Norway -principal producer of the world-, which has prevented it from returning its products to Russia.
The new body called “The Chilean Salmon Marketing Institute” is currently being set up to focus solely on bringing more of Chile’s most prized export to US dinner plates. Clement revealed that post-US strategy, they will be focusing on Russia, China and Japan.
For the rest of the year, Clément estimated that the total shipments of salmon will slightly exceed 800 thousand tons.In 2019 there will be a “rather conservative growth, which is healthy for the industry,” he added.
