Chilean salmon farmer guides for bigger harvests and return to profit
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Chilean fish farmer Salmones Camanchaca remains on track to harvest 59,000 tonnes (whole fish equivalent) of Atlantic salmon and between 4,500 and 5,000 tonnes of coho salmon this year, despite challenges in the first half of 2026, vice president Ricardo García has said.
The company expects to harvest 72,000 to 75,000 tonnes WFE of salmonids next year, reports Fish Farming Expert's Chilean sister site, Salmonexpert.cl.
Speaking to investors at a webinar related to the company’s second quarter results last Thursday, García explained that a greater concentration of its farming is taking place in the Aysén Region this year and that this rgeion is less exposed to harmful algal blooms (HABs) and low oxygen levels that occur in the summer. This should make sites less likely to be impacted by the El Niño climate phenomenon, which can cause HABs and oxygen issues.
Prices offset tariffs
Regarding the new 12.5% tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump on products such as Chilean salmon, García revealed that prices rose to match the import levy, and that the Chilean salmon sector had therefore managed to pass on the tariff in its sales, generating no adverse economic effects on the company for now.
He added that favourable cost trends and limited supply, which will end flat in 2026, would generate a better margin and higher prices for Chilean salmon.
Salmones Camanchaca general manager Manuel Arriagada said: “We are entering the second half of the year with much more positive foundations”, which he added is further supported by good biological performance and shorter times to reach harvest weight.
Those factors, together with the end of an outbreak of salmon rickettsial septicaemia (SRS) that resulted in extraordinary mortality costs of US $2.8 million in the first quarter, have enabled the company to estimate higher harvest weights and low mortality.
Higher revenue but a loss
Salmones Camanchaca recorded a 35% increase in revenue in Q2 2026 compared to the same period last year, reaching US $94.6m. Revenue for H1 was US $201m, 15% higher than in 2025.
The Q2 revenue increase is mainly explained by the higher volume sold from its inventories in both salmon species, with a 36% increase in Atlantic and tripling the volume in coho.
Despite lower prices, quarterly EBITDA – a measure of operating profit -increased 11% to US $14.1m, although was down to US $23.4m in the first half of the year compared to US $32.4m in H1 2025.
The net result after tax for H1 was a loss of US $0.6m compared to a profit of US $10.4m in 2025. A better result is expected for the next periods.
