Landings of squid in Puerto Madryn, Chubut province, Argentine Patagonia are higher than last year's and can be considered a “great success for fisheries and our province,” according to Diego Pérez, manager of the Madryn port.
The impact of COVID-19 on the seafood market and industry operations has been severe, confirmed fishing industry executives and a spokesperson for the Falkland Islands Fishing Companies Association (FIFCA).
Argentina exported 277.348 tons of seafood between January and August 2014, which represents a minimum rise of 0.01% compared to the 277.314 tons of the same period in 2013.
In the first half of this year, Argentina seafood exports totaled 778.8 million dollars with a slight increase of 30 million dollars, and 3.9% over the same period of 2013 (749.6 million), reported the Directorate of Fisheries Economics from the Fisheries and Aquaculture Under Secretariat.
According to the latest stats from the Argentine Fisheries Under-Secretariat Office, between January first and 13 March, 2014, a total of 31,760.6 tons of squid (Illex argentinus) was landed in Argentine ports. Out of that volume, 213.3 tons correspond to January; 26,391.9 tons to February and in the first two weeks of March, 5,155.3 tons.
The auditing firm KPMG found out that the Galician multinational firm Pescanova ‘blew up’ up to 1,264% the price of seafood products sold to the 14 instrumental (straw) companies with which it operated through fake invoices.
Argentina reported exports of 48.418 tons of seafood in the first two months of the year equivalent to 140.8 million dollars, which is 8.2% less than the same period a year ago, mainly because of lower prices.
Two Falkland Islands fishing companies were awarded in Brussels last week the Superior Taste Award which was extended to Marfrío a Spanish processing company that works with Patagonian squid caught in the Islands waters.