Chile farmed salmon exports to Russia rebound sharply in third quarter

Chilean salmon exports to Russia jumped higher in the third quarter, following a dramatic drop in the immediate aftermath of Russia's widely condemned invasion of Ukraine in February.

Exports of salmon to Russia rose 44.4 percent in the third quarter to 11,171 metric tons.

Chilean customs statistics do not specifiy the specific companies exporting to Russia.

Norway and other western countries were already effectively locked out of the Russian market as a result of long-standing food import bans. Chile and the Faroe Islands, however, were not impacted by the ban.

Two of the Faroes' largest salmon farmers, Bakkafrost and Hiddenfjord, have not resumed shipments to the Russian market since halting exports after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

US, Japan lead overall rise

Chile's overall global salmon and trout exports increased 18.1 percent in the third quarter to 164,730 metric tons compared to the year prior, lifted by shipments to the United States and Japan.

Exports to the United States, Chile's largest market, rose 5.8 percent to 61,107 metric tons, while exports to Japan climbed 29.5 percent to 21,119 metric tons.

Shipments to neighboring Brazil, Chile's second-largest market, fell 5.3 percent percent to 29,708 metric tons as citizens grapple with soaring living costs.

While exports to China have been way off pre-pandemic levels this year, shipments climbed 260 percent to 9,535 metric tons in the third quarter.

Atlantic salmon accounts for the vast majority of Chilean salmon exports, with coho and rainbow trout combined making up 14 percent of shipments by volume in the third quarter.

A further breakdown of the numbers show 49.6 percent of Chile's exports by volume were shipped fresh, compared with 50 percent for frozen products. Smoked salmon accounted for just 0.4 percent.