March 29, 2012
Spain is currently the main recipient of exports of Chilean mussels, with Chile exporting 18,432 tonnes of mussels to the Spanish market for 2011, representing an increase of 81%, compared with 10,206 tonnes recorded in 2010.
In value terms, the purchases grew 114%, changing from EUR21.7 million (US$29 million) in 2010 to EUR47 million (US$63 million) in 2011, according to a report of the Galician Mussel Regulating Council.
Given these figures, Spain is the destination of one third of the total Chilean exports and has emerged as the largest buyer of the Chilean mollusc, ahead of France, Italy and US.
In total, between January and October 2011, Chile exported about 63,254 tonnes of mussels, generating foreign exchange for US$167.9 million, as shown by the statistics from Prochile Export Promotion Directorate.
The price of the Chilean mollusc in the European market also recorded a significant increase of 18%. In 2011, the average price per kilogramme reached EUR3.4 (US$4.53), compared to EUR2.8 (US$3.73) in 2010.
The mussel from Chile is the main competitor of the Galician mussel. Therefore, the Galician Mussel Regulatory Council believes that the increased imports are against the interests of producers in Galicia.
However, from the sector it is recognized that this is an open economy and that these imports cannot be stopped.
Given this situation, the objective of the Spanish producers is to emphasise the differentiation of their products through quality accreditation.
In that sense, this week Linamar Group products, Luis EscurÃs Batalla SA, Grupo Calvo, Boiromar and Conservera Gallega received the certification, attesting that they comply with all the guarantees of the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), granted by Bureau Veritas.
