Stagnating economy in Aysén due to lower salmon production

Christian Pérez According to the analysis of the Regional Economic Activity Index or Inacer, the production sectors with higher impact on the contraction of this indicator and offset the economic growth in the area were fishing, mainly because of low activity in salmon farming sites; and Transport and Telecommunications, which presented significant decreases in the subsector ‘Terrestrial freight’. Total harvest of salmonids in the Region of Aysén experienced a 5.3 percent decrease in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of 2013, from around 112,200 tonnes to 106,300 tonnes, according to figures from a report recently published by the Chilean Undersecretariat of Fisheries. In addition, the National Statistics Institute report marks a rise in the activity of the Social, Personal and Communal Services due to increases in the subsectors Public Administration, Education and Health. The Chilean regions that led economic growth in the period were Magallanes (17%), Los Ríos (7%) and Tarapacá (4.9%), while those regions that showed the largest declines are Valparaíso (-5,6%), Antofagasta (-2.4%) and Maule (-2%).