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Impressive decrease in ex-cage costs

Published Last updated

Christian Pérez

Salmones Multiexport recorded a 10 per cent decrease in its production cost ex-cage in the first half of this year compared to the same period of 2014 - reducing its ex-cage costs from almost US$ 4.4/kg WFE of Atlantic salmon in 2013 down to an expected US$ 3.8/kg WFE by the end of this year.

According to the company, this achievement is the consequence of an improved biological performance due to higher yield of produced kg WFE per smolt, lower accumulated mortality rate, larger average harvest weights and improved growth rates.

While in 2013 the Chilean salmon industry averaged a yield of 3.51 kg WFE produced per Atlantic salmon smolt, year-to-date (YTD) the industry averages 4.19 kg WFE produced per smolt, while Multiexport records 4.80 kg WFE over the same last period.

Likewise, while the industry registered an accumulated mortality rate close to 19 per cent in 2013, this has been reduced to an average of 15 per cent YTD, and Multiexport has gone even further, reducing it to an accumulated mortality rate of around 10 per cent, said the company.

Similar improvements are seen in the average harvest weight, which is close to 5.7 kg in Multiexport, and the growth rate, which is of 312 g WFE per month for harvested fish in the same company.