AquaChile have formally dissolved all ties with the Association of the Salmon Industry of Chile A.G. (SalmonChile). 

 

The largest Chilean salmon producer in the guild, left shortly after the resignation of Victor Hugo Puchi as vice president of SalmonChile in early August, who is also still the president of AquaChile. 

 

While the firm announced its final departure on 23 August, it was not made official until Monday. 

 

AquaChile seperated from SalmonChile due to "insurmountable differences of substance," an industry source told Diario Financiero. 

 

"The union's spirit is now broken, it would not be surprising if other companies follow the same path," added the source. 

 

Meanwhile, other members of the salmon industry believe it is too premature to talk about the possibility that other companies will also withdraw from SalmonChile, reports  Estrategia. 

 

"What we know is that there will be many negotiations. However, for the mean time anyway, nobody knows how they will handle the matter so there could be a break," they said. 

 

Some of those from the sector, note that when AquaChile left the guild, it disturbed the balance between domestic and foreign investors, a situation that will seriously affect Norway, for their strong participation in the salmon industry in Chile. 

 

Puchi had resigned on the grounds that "the changes brought by the profession did not have the depth that it required to change the painful crisis being experienced by the industry." 

 

The decision is based on the repeated discrepancies by SalmonChile, linked with "the depth of changes required in the industry to aspire to reform the health of the sector, after the crisis caused by the spread of the infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus." 

 

Some employees recalled that the discrepancies between Puchi and SamonChile emerged many months ago. 

 

The general manager of the guild, Carlos Odebret has said that "SalmonChile is not in the middle of a crisis."