Chilean mussel industry is still not achieving good results and is facing a decline in the export of its products.
According to data provided by InfoTrade to Aqua, between January and October 2012 the sector exported 53,975 tonnes of mussels, a figure which shows a decrease of 17 per cent over the same period in 2011.
Meanwhile, there is a decline in revenue in the first 10 months of last year, when exports totalled USD 135 million, that is to say, 23 per cent less than the same period of 2011.
InfoTrade report also indicates that the average price fell during the analysed period from USD 2.66/kg (2011) to USD 2.51/kg (2012), that is, a decrease of 5.9 per cent.
In the first 10 months of 2012, the main producer of mussels from Chile was Blue Shell, which sent abroad 7,380 tonnes of mussels for USD 18 million.
In second place was St. Andrews Smoky Delicacies, with 5,767 tonnes exported for USD 13 million, and in third place was Camanchaca, which exported 4,888 tonnes of mussels for USD 12 million.
Last November, the mussel farmer sector hoped that stocking shortage problem will be solved this year and export levels will increase.
For members of this industry, one of the key aspects for more information on stock lack is in the field of research.
In this regard, the manager of the Mussel Farmers Association of Chile A.G. (AmiChile), Yohana Gonzalez, considered this issue "should be a priority for 2013."
The leader pointed out several advances made in 2012: "Several things were achieved: we concluded with the issue of sectoral marks with a major impact on the Russian market; we have almost finished the strategy that we want to continue with the Mussel Farming Technological Institute (Intemit), but there are still many challenges, especially in the field of research, " she said in an interview with the portal Aqua.