Cermaq growth stands out in Chile salmon ranking

Chile exported 821,288 tonnes (whole fish equivalent) of salmon worth US $5.361 billion in the first 10 months of 2023, newly published figures show.

The export volume increased by 5% and earnings by 1% compared to the same period in 2022.

Chile’s biggest salmon farmer, AquaChile – which grows both Atlantic and coho salmon – exported 174,880 tonnes (WFE) of fish worth $1.003bn, an increase of 4% in volume and a decrease of 6% in returns year on year.

Second place on the ranking is occupied by Cermaq Chile, which exported 80,265 tonnes WFE of fish worth more than $586 million. Export volume and returns both grew by 22% year on year for Cermaq Chile, which is owned by Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi.

Multi X is in third place, exporting 73,000 tonnes WFE of salmon worth $500m, a 6% fall in both volume and returns.

Fourth on the list is Salmones Austral, which exported 53,045 tonnes of fish worth $352m, falls of 24% and 14% respectively.

Australis Seafoods is last of the top five, exporting 48,417 tonnes of salmon worth $322m - decreases of 5% in volume and 9% in returns.

The figures are included in the monthly Commercial Outlook produced by Fish Farming Expert’s Chilean sister site, Salmonexpert.cl, and Skills.