Last year 400 million Atlantic salmon eggs were produced in Chile, that is to say, 20 per cent fewer than in 2011, when 493 million were obtained, reported the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca).
Meanwhile, according to the general manager of the Icelandic company Stofnfiskur, Rodolfo Infante, the firm exported "nearly 40 million eggs of Salmo salar (Atlantic salmon)" to Chile in 2012.
A few months ago, Sernapesca authorized Stofnfiskur to initiate the export of Atlantic salmon eggs to the Chilean market.
This approval, determined after the performance of an audit in Iceland, turned the Icelandic company into the first and only company authorized to place eggs in the South American country, Aqua reported.
While last year no eggs from Tasmania entered, Infante emphasized that the eggs from Stofnfiskur "were the only ones entering the country as a result of the excellent rating in the area of health risk assessment conducted by the Sernapesca."
The entrepreneur highlighted that Iceland was "the first country to meet the demanding requirements of the new legislation for the import of exotic aquatic species."
With regard to the production of Pacific salmon eggs, in 2012 there was a significant decrease compared to 2011, more than 25 per cent.
According to Sernapesca, in 2011 the production was 186 million eggs while in 2012 it was close to 140 million eggs.
The use of Pacific salmon eggs in Chile last year was limited to eggs produced at national level, since no imports were recorded.
"The low prices for this product, which are closely related to the fragile relationship between supply/demand was the main reason for the reduction in egg production observed in 2012," explained Infante.
Meanwhile, in 2012 the Chilean trout egg production fell 20 per cent from the previous year: 200 million eggs, compared with 239 million, Sernapesca stated.
Regarding trout egg imports, in 2011 they went down from 71 million to fewer than 50 million in 2012, from two producers in Denmark.
Infante added that "the productive bonanza in 2011 seems to weaken during 2012 for the three dominant species."
"This is reflected in the sector constant government interventions to regulate the technical aspects that will ultimately impact on the overall health of the industry, such as the regulation of densities, treatment, handling of mortalities, port usage, among others," he continued.
In addition, he predicted "an erratic production of national eggs for this year, with delayed spawning periods and with reduced survivals in all and in each one of the development stages from eggs to smolts, which will also be reflected in lower survivals in the fattening cycle to begin next year."
The executive said so far in 2013 Stofnfiskur has sold more than 20 million eggs and expects to end this year with the sale of 45 million only in Chile.
"In the fourth quarter of this year, we will have the Local Quantitative Trait (LQT) available for infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN) virus in all our egg lots, which has generated a lot of interest, considering the huge increase in reserves," he stressed.
