Chile has sent its first shipment of salmon to Australia, opening up a potentially important new market for the South American country’s salmon farmers.
In what is seen as a significant export development, and after several months of preparation, the shipment of fresh refrigerated salmon was transported by the LATAM Cargo Group from Santiago to Melbourne.
A Chilean export spokesperson said: “This important milestone marks the starting point for the export of our products to Australia, opening up new opportunities to position the quality and excellence of national production abroad.”
An extensive and rigorous audit process was carried out led by the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca), with the support of the export organisation ProChile, through which compliance with the requirements established by the demanding Australian market was verified.
Soledad Tapia Almonacid, National Director of Sernapesca (pictured) said: “After a long audit process of the inspection, control and certification systems that Sernapesca maintains throughout the salmon value chain, the successful completion of the first salmon export to this country represents great support for the entire salmon farming value chain and also for the work carried out by our service, as the competent body for the certification and facilitation of exports.”
ProChile’s International Director, Natalia Arcos, said: "This milestone is extremely important for salmon exports, as it opens the doors to a market of more than 26 million inhabitants, which gives us good potential for our positioning; it also generates diversification for shipments of this product and new opportunities for Chilean companies in the sector."