US tourists fuel Cuban salmon boom

Christian Pérez The island has 335 hotels, of which 65% are classified as 4 or 5 star, with a total accommodation capacity of 58,434 rooms. These high-end hotels show considerable demand for smoked salmon fillets - especially during the peak tourist season, from November to April. With the number of tourists visiting Cuba currently close to 3 million per year and rising, the Chilean Bureau of Export Promotion expects an increase in the demand for smoked salmon fillets. According to a study recently published by the Bureau of Export Promotion (ProChile), in 2010-2012, Chile provided 55% of the Cuban market for smoked salmon fillets, while Poland, Spain and China supplied 17%, 9% and 9% respectively.

In 2012, Chile exported 66,016 kg of smoked salmon to Cuba, worth US$ 0.9 million.