MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Record fisheries exports.

Chilean fisheries exports reached 1,468 billion US dollars during the first seven months of 2004, a 12,8% increase over the same period last year indicating that the 2,5 billion US dollars target for the whole twelve months can be achieved, reported the Fisheries National Society, SNP.

Molluscs and shellfish were the most dynamic item with a 38,5% increase totalling 93,7 million US dollars.

Frozen fish sales expanded 21,3% from 620 million US dollars to 752 million US dollars. Canned fisheries grew 13,1% reaching 95 million US dollars.

Fish meal exports in the first seven months totalled 340,677 tons, equivalent to 42% of all fisheries exports. The ton of fish meal last July was selling at an average 680 US dollars the ton, which is a 10,9% increase over the same period in 2003.

SNP also reported that a joint Chilean-Peruvian trade mission who visited the main European capitals had returned after strongly lobbying against EU restrictions on feeding fish meal to ruminants. The ban was imposed in 2001 as a direct consequence of the "mad cow" epidemics that swept Europe at the time.

The ministerial level delegation also included representatives from the Chilean and Peruvian private fisheries sector.

Peru and Chile are the world's main suppliers of fish meal.