Peru seafood exports slump sharply in September

 

 

Peruvian seafood export sales generated US$104.1 million in September, a 40.7 percent slump from the US$176 million tallied the same month of 2008, the Ministry of Production (Produce) reports.

 

The exported volume dropped 33.7 percent to 96,500 tonnes against 145,600 tonnes dispatched in September last year. This decrease is primarily the result of fewer sales of fishmeal and frozen products, which fell 49.4 percent and 19.9 percent, respectively.

 

According to the latest Statistics Bulletin drafted by Produce, 49,400 tonnes of fishmeal were exported in September, compared to 97,700 tonnes exported a year before.

 

Of the total volume sold abroad, 28.5 percent consisted of traditional fishmeal, 57.3 percent of prime fishmeal, and 14.2 percent of super prime fishmeal.

 

The main markets for Peruvian fishmeal were Germany, the UK China Japan, Taiwan, Australia Spain France Chile, Indonesia, Vietnam, Canada and Belgium, which together purchased 93.2 percent of total export sales.

 

Frozen seafood products equalling 24,100 tonnes were also exported in September as compared to 30,100 tonnes in the same month last year.

 

The majority of frozen products were elaborated using giant squid, shrimp, scallops, hake, mackerel, mahi mahi and silverside, species which constituted 90.9 percent of exports.

 

China, Spain, South Korea, the US, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Italy, France, Russia, and Ecuador acquired 86.9 percent of frozen product exports.

 

Also in September, 2,000 tonnes of canned products were sold abroad, whereas 2,800 tonnes were exported in September of last year, reflecting a decline of 28.6 percent. Of this, 84.8 percent corresponded to canned anchovy, mackerel, jack mackerel and skipjack tuna.

 

These products were primarily exported to Panama, Colombia, Bolivia, Spain, Uruguay Haiti, Slovenia, the US, Italy, Dominican Republic, Germany, and Brazil, where 94.1 percent of total exports were shipped.

 

Exports in September increased total seafood volume sold abroad in the first nine months of the year to 1,873,200 tonnes.

 

This figure reflects a 0.2-percent decrease against the 1,877,200 tonnes exported in the same period of 2008, the Produce report reveals.

 

The total value of exports between January and September reached US$1.797 billion, a figure that represents an 11-percent reduction over the US$2.019 billion generated over the same nine months last year.