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Camanchaca not only wants to boost sales of salmon in Europe, but also plans a marketing push for horse mackerel and mussel-based products, particularly in Spain and Portugal, where canners are renowned for their wide choice and quality of these products.
The Chilean salmon farming and fisheries giant plans to capitalize on Vigo’s position as a major seafood processing and logistics hub.
Chilean seafood giant Pesquera Camanchaca plans to use its new office in the northern Spanish port city of Vigo to launch an expansion drive in European markets.
Starting with major markets in Spain and Portugal, Camanchaca plans to capitalize on Vigo’s position as a major seafood processing and logistics hub in the region.
Over the past two years, the global COVID-19 pandemic and the associated container shipping crisis have made the need for a European headquarters more pressing, Vigo native Tom Ruiz, the company’s EU and EuroAsian Economic Union sales director, told IntraFish.
Executives plan to make further inroads into markets such as France, Germany Denmark and the Netherlands, where they believe Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified Atlantic salmon and organic mussels, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified horse mackerel and antibiotic-free coho salmon products can grain traction.
“They are markets that demand sustainable products,” Ruiz said.
In recent years, the company has put much effort into expanding business for salmon portions and fillets, something it wants to build on in Europe.
It plans to put its weight behind a marketing drive for value-added coho salmon products as a means of differentiating itself from other suppliers, particularly those in Norway, where the species is not produced.
Despite the difficulties of entering directly into retail in some countries, Ruiz said the office in Vigo is aiming to break down these walls, while also targeting new business among wholesale and foodservice buyers.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 coincided with European retailers experiencing a surge in sales of prepacked fish. At the same time, Chilean salmon producers placed fewer fish in growout cages because of global uncertainty, helping to fuel current record prices in Europe.
Camanchaca not only wants to boost sales of salmon in Europe, but also plans a marketing push for horse mackerel and mussel-based products, particularly in Spain and Portugal, where canners are renowned for their wide choice and quality of these products.
The company began operations at a 650-metric-ton-per-day frozen horse mackerel plant in February.
Despite its departure from the European Union, the United Kingdom remains a very important market for the company’s mussel sales as well.
Camanchaca’s mussels are approved by UK retailer Tesco but are sold in bulk to importers, who process the raw materials before selling them on.
In 2021, helped by strong performances in its salmon, fisheries and shellfish divisions, Pesquera Camanchaca posted a 74 percent increase in earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to just over $39 million (€36 million) as revenue rose nearly 19 percent to $640 million (€591 million).