June 13, 2012
Chile-based salmon companies report rising sales costs
All reports from salmon industry firms collected by Chile's Superintendency of Securities and Insurance (SVS) reveal rising sale costs during the first quarter of 2012, representing an average of 42.5%.
In the first three months of 2011, the value of the 'sale cost' item had amounted to US$317.2 million while this year, it rose to US$452 million, according to Diario Financiero.
Invertec Pesquera Mar de Chiloé (Invermar) was the one that recorded the largest increase in sale costs, which was 87.5%, changing from US$22.3 million between January and March, 2011 to US$41.8 million in the first quarter of 2012.
It was followed by Australis Seafoods SA, which in the first three months amounted to US$47.2 million, representing 62.3% more than in the same period of 2011 (US$29.1 million).
Further back stood Blumar Seafoods, which reported a 157% increase in their sale costs, changing from US$26.9 million in the first three months of 2011 to US$69.2 million in the same period this year. In this case, the increase is partly linked to the adjustments after the merger between Pesquera Itata and Pesquera El Golfo, which ended in late September 2011.
Blumar general manager, Gerardo BalbontÃn, said that the main objectives of the company include reducing costs and rationalising, and he explained that "one of the benefits of the merger is the achievement of synergies in production values," reported Diario Financiero.
Meanwhile, the executive director of Multiexport, José Ramón Gutiérrez, said that "food represents the main production cost of salmon [about 50% of the cost of raw material and between 30% and 40% of the cost of the finished product]." He noted that its price is affected by "some variables that the company does not control, such as fishmeal and fish oil prices."
In this regard, the owner of Empresas AquaChile, VÃctor Hugo Pucci, noted that "the fish food industry is highly concentrated, with producers who control approximately 88% of the total produced volume."
On the other hand, the companies Camanchaca SA, Australis and Invermar announced the decision to halt the growth plans for 2012 due to low prices, and it is expected that Los Fiordos also take the same measure.
In the case of Camanchaca, its executives decided to reduce its investment plan between 2012 and 2013.
Meanwhile, last week the owners of Invermar explained that they would freeze their production levels of 30,000 tonnes per year until 2014.
In turn, Australis have reduced the stocking of smolts for 2012 by 30%, reported El Mercurio.
"It's clear that what begins in a scenario of low prices is that businesses are projected in a different way," said the general manager of the Association of the Salmon Industry AG (SalmonChile), Carlos Odebret.
