Major acquisitions, export records and a listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange. It has been an eventful year for both Chilean aquaculture industry and Salmones Camanchaca vice president, Ricardo García.
“The reception by European investors has surpassed our expectations,” said García to the Chilean newspaper La Tercera, adding that the value of the company has increased by more than 80 percent since Salmones Camanchaca went to Oslo and Chile.
García mentions 2018 as the “fish farming industry’s year” in Chile. There has been a record-high export of salmon from the country. Major acquisitions have taken place, such as when Agrosuper took over AquaChile. In November, Chinese conglomerate China giant, Joyvio bought Australis for USD 880 million. So on top of that, Salmones Camanchaca went on the stock exchange.
- Read more: Salmones Camanchaca: “Going forward, there will be lower but stable growth in the years to come”
According to García, salmon prices have been as expected and the costs have been under control. García also believes that the industry handles diseases better.
“In addition, the authorities have shown a very proactive attitude in the work on sustainable growth for the industry in Chile,” he said, adding that this has led to a positive response in the market.
In addition to the fact that Chilean salmon has had strong growth in Brazil and the USA, he also singled out Germany as an important market. Also countries like Mexico, Russia and China are becoming increasingly important for Chilean salmon, according to García.
García says that the acquisition of AquaChile in particular is important for to compete with Norway. The purchase made it Chile’s second largest salmon farmer.
“We will continue to compete,” said García.
Though everything has not been rosy in the Chilean aquaculture industry in 2018. In July, Marine Harvest experienced a “significant escape” after a huge storm. Recently, an escape was reported at a Ventisqueros farm
