After the region’s GDP was the only one to fall in the country, Acuiprov affirms that the Government’s uncertainty towards aquaculture is generating stagnation.
According to the Central Bank report for the first quarter, Aysén’s GDP reported a sharp drop of 9.7%, affected by commerce and the manufacturing sector, with the poor performance of the aquaculture-fishing industry being the one that explained the negative result of both. activities which led to it being the only region in the country with a decline in the economy.
In this regard, the president of Acuiprov, the largest association of aquaculture suppliers in the area, Katia Inostroza, told Salmonexpert that “what is happening in Aysén is regrettable, it impacts the population’s pockets, it began with the Sbap Law, then with the protected areas and the ECMPO, which brought uncertainty to a fundamental activity such as salmon and also to fishing.”
“These uncertainties in regulation have generated this: the non-production of jobs, very little money in circulation, it is really not enough to make ends meet. We are an economically fragile region, the sea is the main source of income, and hitting aquaculture activity implies setbacks due to just one Government ideology. We can feel that this could get worse, we are stagnant, we will finally become a large reserve, we are warning of an economic disaster,” Inostroza stressed.
And the regional secretary of the Economy, Felipe Rojas, indicated that the figures for Aysén in regional GDP issued by the Central Bank are a cyclical phenomenon and not a trend “and in that context and because the salmon industry is a key player in regional growth, the absorption of labor, the contracting of services from suppliers, the decrease in its harvests, among other factors, meant a decline for the economy.”
As we know, Rojas pointed out, “the productive chain that occurs with the salmon industry is a synergy that has very positive characteristics, but at the same time, it undoubtedly influenced the services constantly required by the industry towards its suppliers, which have decreased. , generating declines in the provision of services. We maintain a fluid dialogue in order to support and strengthen local supplier companies in Aysén, due to their positive impact on the territory.”
“We understand that the salmon industry is cyclical and that today’s x-ray will not be the same tomorrow. In that context, we understand these phenomena for what they are; cyclical processes,” the seremi made clear, recalling that in 2023, “Aysén was the second region that grew the most, driven by aquaculture activity.”
For his part, Senator David Sandoval admitted that “Aysén’s economic report does not leave us happy at all, and this reveals that regional development policies are being carried out in a bad way. It is alarming and urgent at the same time to reverse the negative situation.”
“We must end the current welfare scheme, the dependence on the public sector, and taking into account that aquaculture and fishing was one of the sectors that had the most impact on the decline in local GDP, it is key to analyze how we can make this activity compatible with environmental protection so that it grows,” said the parliamentarian.
The senator then said that the sharp decline in the salmon harvest “must be observed differently, to ensure that the activity is growing not only for the industry, but also for the community, where, for example, aquaculture suppliers are being affected by this.”
“Salmon farming is not seen with the importance it deserves in Chile, despite the fact that it is the second largest source of income for the country, unlike what happens in Norway,” Sandoval said.
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