Salmones Camanchaca Vice Chairman Ricardo García is proud of what his company has achieved in its first year on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
“We came to Norway a year ago to offer part of our company on the Oslo Stock Exchange. We travelled around and visited investors and told them a story. And now we have shown that the story was true. 2018 was a year when Salmones Camanchaca delivered as promised,” García told SalmonBusiness.
With costs of around USD 3 per kilogram of fish, a 48,500 tonnes harvest and an operating profit of USD 72.1 million for the whole of 2018, Ricardo García can safely say 2018 was a successful year for the Chileans.
Read more: Salmones Camanchaca’s operating profit went up 86 per cent last quarter
Great export to Russia
In 2018, Salmones Camanchaca took a great deal of the Russian market. The company exported 24 per-cent of its production to Russia in 2018, compared with ten per-cent the year before.
“We used the opportunity we got and sold more to Russia. The Russians paid considerably more than other markets, so we took a little from all our other markets and sold more there,” García added.
But nothing lasts forever.
“Prices go up in the US and Russia is somewhat weaker. We see a shift towards the US in 2019,” said García.
Flexibility is important
García pointed out that they have done a great job on the production side to have the flexibility to change the product they sell at any time. And adapt to market demand.
“Our ability to be flexible towards markets is very important. The profit for the company is in the end a combination between supply and demand. Production and sales. We have made a great effort to have the flexibility to change from frozen, to fresh, to fillets, and so on,” said García.
Salmones Camanchaca sold 61 percent of its fish in 2018 as frozen.
Loyal to the buyers, not the market
“We have made a great effort to build relationships in many markets, now we sell in 38 different countries on three continents. So the market component is important to us. If you do not have the opportunity to change the market, there is no point in having flexibility in the production,” García explained.
He said that Salmones Camanchaca has some long-term obligations and that their loyalty is towards buyers, not against markets.
“One fraction of our sales is against the long-term obligations. The second fraction is of a more opportunistic nature, where we are always looking for the best deals, as with Russia in 2018. We take the opportunities we get to sell in good markets,” concluded García.
