Image: Consejo del Salmón / FIS

Loreto Seguel: ´This GDP Decline Is Extremely Concerning and Raises a Red Flag for the Region´

CHILE
Tuesday, July 02, 2024, 01:00 (GMT + 9)

The executive director of the Salmon Council analyzed the latest report from the Central Bank and the indicators of salmon farming in Aysén.

“We have recently been informed that the GDP of the Aysén region was the only negative in Chile and that it fell almost 10 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of the previous year. This indicator is extremely worrying and puts a red alert on the region and on our entire country if we consider that salmon farming represents more than 25 percent of the GDP of that region. Zooming in on the operational indicators of the productive chain of this industry during the first quarter, the decline they present is evident: the number of cultivation centers decreased by 24%, biomass decreased by 32%, harvest centers were reduced by 12.5%, while the harvest in tons decreased by 16.7%. The situation is serious. And this confirms that if salmon farming goes badly, those who are affected in its future prospects are the region itself and all those who live in it. I have always said it: we have the duty to project this industry that is so relevant to the southern southern regions and today these numbers give a sense of urgency and inescapable obligation," with these words the director of the Salmon Council, Loreto Seguel, referred to the recent report delivered by the Central Bank.

For more information, the Salmon Council prepared a report analyzing public data shown below.

Background:

The Central Bank in its quarterly report on regional GDP (Q1 2023 versus Q1 2024) reports that all regions grew, except the Aysén Region, which registered a drop of -9.7%.

Regarding this fall, the Central Bank provides the following analysis:

“The Aysén region registered a drop of 9.7% affected by the rest of goods and the manufacturing industry. The decline in fishing and the fishing industry explained the results of both activities.

Meanwhile, household consumption showed a drop of 1.0% explained, mainly, by lower spending on durable goods and services, the first associated with a lower demand for automobiles and the second with spending on food.

Source: Consejo del Salmón 

Analysis

The Central Bank report indicates the drop in the GDP of the Aysén Region and relates it to a decline in the fishing industry.

On the other hand, according to the “Productive Chaining” study prepared by economist Rodrigo Cifuentes (Study 2023, San Sebastián University), salmon farming represents more than 25% of the GDP in the Aysén Region.

What happened in the 1st quarter of 2024 with aquaculture?

Aquaculture presented significant declines in the operational indicators of its productive chain.

• Cultivation and biomass centers

During the 1st quarter of 2024, a 24% decrease is observed in the number of active cultivation centers, compared to the same period in 2023, decreasing from 219 to 166.

With respect to biomass, during this 1st quarter of 2024, a decrease of 31% is observed, hosting 51,995 tons of production on average, compared to 75,712 tons on average in the same period of 2023.[1]

• Harvests

[1] SERNAPESCA, Boletines Informativos Regionales “Boletín Región de Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo”. Primer trimestre 2024

Source: Consejo del Salmón

The total amount of harvest for the first quarter of 2024 corresponds to 113,692 tons, which is equivalent to a decrease of 16.7% compared to the tons harvested in the same period of 2023, where a total of 136,551 tons was reported. harvested.

In relation to the number of centers in the harvest stage, for the first quarter of 2024, this showed a decrease of 12.5%, going from 64 centers in harvest during the year 2023 to 56 centers in harvest in the first quarter of this year.

In summary:

Just as the Central Bank reports a drop in Aysén's GDP of 9.7% for Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023, the aquaculture industry of the Aysén Region reports a drop, for the same period, in the operational indicators of the productive chain: number of crop centers, biomass and quantity harvested.

The following table shows the indicators that decrease when comparing the quarters of 2023 and 2024.

Source: Consejo del Salmón (Translated from the original in Spanish)

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