It was last October when, in the framework of President Boric's visit to China and Chile Week Beijing 2023, both countries signed an agreement allowing Chile to export fresh coho salmon to China for the first time. Now, two months later, Chile's National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) announced the effective start of exports.
As mentioned, thanks to the so-called 'Protocol on inspection, quarantine and veterinary sanitary requirements for aquaculture products exported from Chile to China' signed last October, the Chinese customs authority began to recognize Sernapesca's veterinary certification, thus allowing the export of various aquaculture products from Chile to China.
It is worth noting that during 2022, 1,625,201 tons of fishery and aquaculture products were exported to this country, but precisely because of the lack of recognition of this certification, fresh coho salmon was one of the products that could not be included in that export, along with others such as fresh Pacific salmon, northern oysters, trout or some formats of mussels.
Following the signing of the protocol, as of today, Sernapesca has already accredited and certified 2.3 tons of coho salmon - a star product in China - that will reach the Asian country and were processed in a processing plant located on the island of Chiloé, Los Lagos region.
"This export shows the strategic importance of sanitary certification," said Soledad Tapia, National Director of Sernapesca. "This achievement underscores Chile and Sernapesca's continued commitment to rigorous quality standards in food safety, as well as its willingness to explore new markets and strengthen its presence globally."
"This milestone is the result of negotiations between Chile and China, which produced results with the signing of an important agreement to increase aquaculture exports during the President's visit to China," stated Nicolás Grau, Chilean Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism, for his part.
"Moreover, it represents a specific opportunity for the development of Small Scale Aquaculture in terms of exports and a new market for development, especially for mussels, oysters, and other resources, so we hope that other actors in the sector will take the step to export to China," he added.