Camanchaca's losses lessen

Christian Pérez The salmon producing division of Compañía Pesquera Camanchaca registered losses of US$ 316,000 in the second quarter of this year, compared to losses of US$ 13 million in Q2 2013. Seasonal decreases in salmon prices, sales and production volumes in the second quarter would explain the negative results in Q2 2014, the company said. Likewise, Salmones Camanchaca recorded an EBITDA of US$ 16.4 million in the first half of this year, compared to a negative EBITDA of US$ 13.6 million in the same period of the previous year. Camanchaca also reported improved sanitary conditions and reduced production costs for Atlantic salmon compared to the first half year of 2013. For trout, the company concluded harvesting this species in the first quarter of this year, in compliance with the decision to temporarily stop their stocking.   “The company has stopped growing this species due to its risks associated with high mortality, but without discarding future restocking given an improvement in those tools needed to deal with these sanitary conditions,” Camanchaca stated. Finally, the company said that mortality rates in Atlantic salmon have decreased from around 14 per cent in the first half of 2013 to about 9.8 per cent in the same period of this year.