AquaChile chief celebrates new opportunity for fresh coho

The boss of Chile’s biggest salmon farmer has hailed the country’s new trade deal with China that opens a potentially large market for fresh farmed coho.

Writing on LinkedIn, AquaChile general manager Sady Delgado posted a photo of the agreement being signed in Beijing this week.

AquaChile farms both Atlantic and coho salmon, a Pacific species, and is the country’s biggest producer of coho, a fish that is becoming more popular with Chilean farmers because it is typically immune to sea lice and reaches harvest size more quickly than Atlantic salmon.

 “Historic for Chile!”, proclaimed Delgado in his social media post.

“Today in Beijing, and under the watchful eye of Chinese President XI Jinping and Chilean President Gabriel Boric, Economy Minister Nicolas Grau signs a protocol that will allow the entry of Pacific salmon (coho salmon) into the Chinese market in fresh format. An aspiration of more than 20 years that today is realised within the framework of Chile Week Beijing 2023 and President Boric’s visit to China.

A food power

“The work of the Ministry of Economy, Sernapesca (Ed: Chile’s state aquaculture agency), Undersecretary of Fisheries and Ministry of Agriculture is enormous to support Chile’s foreign trade as a food power.

“The public-private alliance to support Chile’s food exports to the world is bearing fruit today.”

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO), Chilean fish farmers produced 174,700 tonnes (whole fish equivalent) of coho salmon in 2022, which was a 13% increase on the volume harvested in 2021 and accounted for just under a fifth of the country’s salmonid production.

The volume of Atlantic salmon harvested in the first 11 months of 2022 was 692,800 tonnes WFE, up 3.4% compared to the same period in 2021, and the volume of rainbow trout harvested was 62,500 tonnes WFE, an increase of 21.4% year-on-year.

'Enchanting Europe'

Chile’s seventh largest salmon farmer, Salmones Camanchaca, primarily grows Atlantic salmon but is adding a greater proportion of coho as it expands production. While its Atlantic salmon harvest this year is expected to be the same as 2022 at around 44,000-46,000 tonnes, its coho harvest is planned to increase to 11,000-13,000 tonnes, including 3,000 tonnes to be harvested in January 2024.

The company increased its focus on coho following the loss of 1.6 million Atlantic salmon because of algal blooms in 2021. Coho are harvested before the time of year when most blooms occur.

In January, Salmones Camanchac’s commercial manager Daniel Silva told Fish Farming Expert’s Chilean sister site, Salmonexpert.cl, that the company aimed to “conquer and enchant” the European market with coho.

“Coho is a tremendous product; nutritious and sustainable. This is why we will not focus our efforts on specific clients or markets but instead make the product visible throughout Europe and thus establish new business,” said Silva.