Russian importers nearly double purchases of salmon from AUSTRALIS MAR SA

The Chilean-based firm AUSTRALIS MAR SA, part of Australis Seafoods S.A, has nearly doubled its sales of frozen salmon and trout to Russia, according to the customs records of the country.

In terms of volume, in the first nine months of 2018 the export of frozen Atlantic salmon and salmon trout has jumped from 5,414 metric tons to 9,784.83 metric tons as compared to the same period of 2017.

In terms of value the increase was also impressive: from 43.84 million USD to 66.74 million USD.

More details on the structure of the company’s Russian sales are given in the tables below.

Table 1. Dynamics of seafood shipments of AUSTRALIS MAR SA to Russia in January-September 2017-2018 by volume

Table 2. Dynamics of seafood shipments of AUSTRALIS MAR SA to Russia in January-September 2017-2018 by value

The Chilean Group runs a complete сycle from smolt production to processing of farmed salmon and trout, according to the website of the mother company Australis Seafoods S.A.

Australis Mar S.A. is responsible for raising and weight gaining of the fish in sea water. Raising and breeding stages in sea water goes from reception of smolts in the different Australis Mar S.A.’s centers located in the Region of Los Lagos, Aysén and Natales until the harvesting of fish when they weight between 3 Kg and 5 Kg, depending on the species.

Weight gaining stage in sea water begins with the reception of the smolts in the centers, continuing with a sustained weight gaining process that lasts about 8 to 10 months for Coho Salmon and Trout, and 16 to 18 months for Salar Salmon.

Coho Salmon and Trout are harvested when they reach 2.5 and 3 Kg weight, respectively, and Salar Salmon harvesting is performed at 4.5 Kg in average. To carry out the harvesting process wellboats are used to transport fish to the processing plants once they have reached the desired weight.

In these boats fish have optimum density and oxygenation, which ensure an arrival at the processing plant in excellent freshness and quality conditions, which ultimately results in obtaining a final product of excellence.

PROCESSING AND SALES

Fish processing plays an important role in the salmon industry. Australis processing follows strict food safety standards and animal welfare.

The sites receive the fish (whole salmon or trout) and by using advanced technology and skilled labor, turn it into value added products according to customer requirements from the target markets.

For commercialization purposes pre-sold production and execution of medium and long term agreements are promoted.

For Pacific salmon or Coho and Trout, prices are set and agreed for an entire harvest season. For Atlantic salmon, on the other hand, price for a portion of the production (delivered fresh to the U.S.) is established with one week advance and for other markets -such as the Latin America- it is set on a monthly basis.

For frozen products, transactions are set case by case basis, such as long-term programs of 3 months, 6 months or more. This policy practice allows its customers to optimize and reduce price fluctuations in the spot market.