Fishery and aquaculture product exports in Chile reached a value of USD 2,172.1 million in the first five months of 2013. This figure represents an increase of 4.9 per cent over the same period of 2012, when USD 2,070.1 million was obtained.
The volume of exports between January and May 2013 also rose: it experienced a rise of 13.2 per cent, changing from 536,185 — in 2012 — to 607,245 tonnes this year, the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) reported.
Frozen products were those having a higher participation in export volumes, as they accounted for 16.8 per cent of the total.
They were followed by chilled products and those associated with the fishmeal industry, according to the latest Subpesca Sector Report on Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Statistics by Subpesca show that the main exported product was the Atlantic salmon, which accounted for 38 per cent (USD 826.1 million) in revenues from sales abroad.
Further back was the rainbow trout (15.4 per cent of the total) and the Pacific salmon (11.7 per cent).
Chilean products were shipped to 98 countries, of which the nine main ones concentrated 78.2 per cent of total exports. Among them those highlighted are the United States, Japan, China, Brazil and Russia.
With respect to the capture sector, the accumulated value of seafood exports (269,000 tonnes) reached USD 567.4 million between January and May of 2013.
In the first five months 122,710 tonnes of fishmeal were sold abroad for USD 227.4 million while a year earlier 114,935 tonnes had been exported for USD 144.3 million.
The most important destinations of fishmeal were China, Japan and Spain.
Out of the total exported fishmeal, 57.8 per cent had prime quality, 27.4 per cent had super prime quality and 13.7 per cent had standard quality.
The sales of frozen seafood products abroad totalled USD 218.5 million, which represented an increase of 3.6 per cent over the same period of 2012.
These products went mainly directed to Nigeria, United States and Cameroon, with participations in value of 24.1 per cent, 15.9 per cent and 8.1 per cent, respectively.
As to preserved food, the sales in the first five months of 2013 totalled USD 25.3 million, representing 19.2 per cent lower than a year earlier.
The main markets were Spain, Belgium and the United States, with participations of 24.7 per cent, 8 per cent and 7.7 per cent, respectively.
Aquaculture sector exports accounted for 73.9 per cent of the total value of sales abroad and 55.7 per cent of the total exported volume in the first five months of this year, with USD 1,604 million and about 338,200 tonnes.
The current assessment shows an increase of 1 per cent compared to that recorded last year.
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