Neuquén Sends Weekly Shipments of 20 Tons of Trout to the U.S. Market

2024-09-11 03:55:00

If someone were to visit Neuquén without prior knowledge of its history, production matrix and economic diversity, they might be confused and think that the province is simply synonymous with shale oil and Vaca Muerta . Neuquen’s export potential goes far beyond hydrocarbons.

This certainty is reaffirmed by the performance of aquaculture in the region’s lakes, a little-known activity that has grown exponentially in recent years and has a huge impact on exports. As usually happens at the beginning of every large-scale, high-risk production project, Public sector push is a must. The farming, fattening and slaughtering of fish for export in Neuquen is no exception..

The largest aquaculture project in Patagonia is located in Piedra del ÁguilaLocated along the banks of the Neuquen and Rio Negro reservoirs in the waters of the Limay River is a production enclave that includes a breeding plant for eggs fattened in the lake’s waters, and a slaughterhouse before being shipped abroad.

The role of the province of Neuquén was key to the launch of the campaign, establishing regulations for sharing river water with the province of Rio Negro, and The slaughterhouse was built with public funds and will be completed in March 2022, with a 20-year concession. Part of Idris Patagonia SA.

Public-private synergy is decisive for enclaves of activities with high production and export potential.

The company already has operations in Peru and Chile and started its first exploration work in Piedra del Águila waters in 2017, entering production in 2020.
The first batch of Neuquén trout will begin shipping abroad in 2021, and in just three years, export volumes have grown exponentiallyThe supply of fresh trout fillets to the United States and Canada has been uninterrupted since April 2023.

“From a productivity perspective, this is a huge challenge It is complicated because foreign customers are committed to weekly, consistent and even delivery of quality and quantity,” explains Lucas Maglio, Argentina country manager for Chilean group MarAndino, owner of Idris Patagonia.

production chain. The breeding and genetics factory is located on the edge of a lake on the waters of the Limay River.

indeed, An average of 20 tons of fresh trout fillets are transported by truck from the Piedra del Águila slaughterhouse to Ezeiza every week.. For this purpose, polystyrene foam boxes produced by Neuquén were used, which meet all the specifications required for the international market. The fillets are shipped from Ezeiza to Miami and Los Angeles, from where they are distributed overland to the United States and even to Montreal, Canada.

The company also exports frozen trout, in which case the trout can be shipped filleted, whole or headless. The main markets for this segment are Malaysia, Thailand and Japan..
“What freezing allows you to do is to be able to store and talk to the client, and once an agreement is reached, negotiate and send it. The situation with murals is more complicated, but we can create it more easily,” explains Maglio.

exponential growth

When the data is put into perspective, the production and export performance of Neuquen Aquaculture in just three years is surprising.
2021, In the first year of production in the waters of the Piedra del Águila reservoir, 300 tons of trout were harvested. At the end of 2022, production totaled 900 tons, and a year later, at the end of 2023, the harvest reached 2,100 tons.. This is equivalent to saying that in the first two years of effective production, output increased six times.

In addition, the total harvest volume is expected to reach 6,500 tons by the end of 2024, which means that the production will increase 20 times compared with the beginning of 2021.
85% of them are sold to foreign markets, with foreign exchange earnings expected to total between US$30 and US$40 million this year.which depends on the price per pound of trout on international markets, where Chile and Norway are the world’s largest producers.

view. Lucas Maglio, Country Manager of Idris Patagonia and the breeding cages in the lake.

The goals are immediately ambitious. The goal is to reach an annual output of 10,000 tons by 2026. If this is achieved, it would mean an increase in volumes and could even impact international prices. “Our company produces 10,000 tons per year from Peru. An increase in Argentina’s production of 10,000 tons per year may affect the international market and lead to price fluctuations.

The possible absorptive capacity of international markets is the upper limit to the potential growth of production. “Yeah, okay Statistics show that global salmon consumption increases by 3% to 5% annually“No one thinks it’s feasible to produce 40,000 tons a year because there’s no one to sell to,” Maglio added.

despite this, Future plans include the possibility of establishing a marine farming enclave in Rio Negro, as well as developing its own genetics to produce balanced feed locally..
“We are interested in developing projects related to marine farming in the province of Rio Negro and advancing our genetic development plans. In fact, this year we have already supplied two batches of eggs from abroad with our own eggs,” Mag Leo expected.

Quality certification

One of the greatest added values ​​that trout production can obtain on the international market is related to the different quality certifications that can be obtained for the product.
This is one of the decisive factors for Chilean capital to bet on Piedra del Águila, because The health of the waters of the Limay River is one of the best in the world, which has allowed Neuquen’s production to be certified “antibiotic-free” since 2019..

Recently, two new milestones have led to a quantum leap in the valuation of fish in the Neuquen Basin. Idris Patagonia production is First company in Argentina to receive 4 stars from BAP (Best Aquaculture Practices) certificationinvolving all aspects from feed, hatcheries, fattening centers to processing plants.

“Exporting is a huge challenge as it involves weekly deliveries and maintaining consistent and even quality and quantity.”

Lucas Maglio is Regional Manager for Idris Patagonia

In addition, cultivation centers and processing and slaughterhouses They received ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) certification this year.From an environmental protection perspective, this is the most stringent certification in the world and the only certification promoted by WWF (World Wildlife Fund).

Source of work

One of the most relevant aspects of an activity such as aquaculture is its huge impact on job creation. In areas like Piedra del Aguila and its surrounding areas, the incidence of hydrocarbon extraction and even tourism is much lower..

Synergies between public sector and private initiatives are once again decisive.
When the activities in Piedra del Águila started in 2020, there were 28 employees. Four years later, the number of people directly carrying out activities in the company reached 426..

Work locally. More than 400 people work in aquaculture in the Piedra del Águila region.

In this growth, the opening of slaughterhouses built in the province played a decisive role.
In addition, if personnel indirectly related to different production chain activities such as suppliers, logistics and transfers are included, an additional 120 people will be added, reaching a total of 526 people directly or indirectly involved in production and circulation.

dynamics means Neuquén aquaculture employment opportunities increase 18.5 times in just four years. Available data and estimates, based on incidence rates of less than five years, allow us to identify aquaculture as one of the five activities with the greatest production impact in Neuquén province today.

Rio Negro joins Alicula Aquaculture

The waters bathing Neuquén’s coast offer the province of Rio Negro a productive potential for aquaculture. In fact, on the same course of the Limay River In Alicurá, another of the region’s most important reservoirs, sits another trout farming and fattening enclave that promises a leap into exports..

In January 2024, the Ministry of Economic and Productive Development of the Province of Rio Negro announced a resolution in the Official Gazette, Authorization to establish an aquaculture enterprise on the southern edge of Lake Alicula, located in the Limai River Basina region belonging to the Pilcaniyeu department.

This year 6,500 tons of trout will be harvested and caught in the Piedra del Águila reservoir.

The production enclave belongs to the company Salmón Trout SA and is located in the waters of Lake Alicula with a total area of ​​75 hectares. The authorization issued by the provincial government of Rio Negro is for a period of 10 years and is subject to an environmental impact study. Various samplings of water quality are carried out accordingly to meet basic requirements to ensure the overall sustainability of production.

The salmon trout scheme is in the development phase and its feasibility must be verified by different regulators, including those of the Regional Dam Safety Organization (Orsep) and the Provincial Water Authority (DPA).
Neuquén’s experience allows us to foresee The results will be favorable and in the short term Rio Negro will increase the export potential of regional aquaculture.

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