Cermaq, Australis, Nova Austral and Salmones Magallanes will next year be joined by Blumar and Salmones Multiexport in the Magallanes Region.
According to El Mercurio, Salmones Magallanes farming manager and vice president of the Association of Salmon and Trout Producers of Magallanes, Oscar Garay, said the total annual production of salmon in the region of Magallanes was 70,000 gross tons last year, which resulted in sales worth about USD320m.
Industry sources estimate that by 2022 the volume could reach a peak of 140,000 tonnes. However, according to Garay, the production in Magallanes is limited and there is no possibility of asking for more concessions.
“There was a process of zoning and the areas were defined. In addition, the process is very slow; from the time the application is submitted until the concession is approved, it may take up to seven years,” he said.
Companies expect to invest millions of dollars in technology. Garay stressed that it is “something comparable to the top companies in Norway. And we want to keep it that way, because our sanitary and environmental standards have been maintained at the highest level,” he said.
