Puchi said that comments of Aarskog affect the industry
In its first-quarter report, Alf-Helge Aarskog commented that very strong growth in the industry's smolt stocking and reports of sea lice issues and increased use of antibiotics are indications that the currently good farming conditions may be at risk.
Puchi said that this kind of comments does not help to the country image and thinks are odd when coming from a foreign company, which first experienced ISA virus in Chile. These sort of observations “do not help to the creation of a good environment from the point of view of investors and affect the perception of risk,” he explained.
Besides, he added that Marine Harvest has a stronger position outside the country than in Chile and “they are profiting of good margins since Chile has a low production,” he said.
According to the financial journal Diario Financiero, Víctor Hugo Puchi also stressed that AquaChile -just like other companies in Chile- have recorded significant production improvements. Moreover, he said that in front of infringements to the standards, the Government has acted. “There is a way to address and monitor the production discipline, something that now is evident and which we did not have before,” he concluded.
