Fish canning factory owned by Alimentos Mar Profundo. (Photo: Alimentos Mar Profundo)

Three fishing companies buy canning firm together

CHILE
Monday, December 20, 2010, 01:30 (GMT + 9)

The Chilean fishing industry continues to seek strategies to address the drastic reduction in the amount of horse mackerel (Trachurus murphy) scheduled for 2011.

Pesquera Itata, Pesquera El Golfo and Pesquera Landes have together bought 60 per cent of Alimentos Mar Profundo, for USD 3.6 million.

Alimentos Mar Profundo is a company dedicated to the production and marketing of canned fish. It produces around 1.2 million boxes of canned seafood a year and employs around 400 workers. Since it doesn't own it's own fleet, it sources seafood from other companies.

The operation, as informed to the Superintendency of Securities and Insurance, will see El Golfo finance 42 per cent with Itata supplying a similar percentage, while Landes will contribute the remaining 16 per cent.

None of the three companies has a plant of this nature. Their work was limited to capturing and processing mackerel for fishmeal and in some cases, frozen food.

Gerardo Balbontín, the Itata general manager, explained that the reason for this association is seeking to bring value-added fish and enter into the production of canned seafood for human consumption.

The head of Itata added that it will ideally complement the frozen plant with supplies from El Golfo and Landes.

"You can instigate other integrations in this way," he added. This plant has a capacity to process 50,000 tonnes per year, and in 2011 would be running at 50 per cent capacity," Balbontín told Estrategia.

For his part, Eduardo Fosk, general manager of Landes, said the purchase was made due to the advantages gained from participation in the plant.

"We could have chosen to deliver the horse mackerel caught to another companies for canning, but decided to take this path of greater security, because when you're partner is very different, one must be a salesman," said the executive to El Mercurio.

The three fishing companies would pay USD 1 million in cash on signing the contract of sale of shares and the remaining USD 2.6 million over a period of three years.

Once the business is realized, they will set the new directory of Alimentos Mar Profundo with the participation of the buyers.

This project reflects a trend in the fishing industry to address both the low catches of horse mackerel in recent years as well as the reductions in quotas, with options to monetize the scarce resource.

The association of Itata, El Golfo and Landes adds to the merger which took place in November this year between SouthPacific Korp, of the Angelini group, and Pesquera San José.

Related articles:
- Drastic cuts to horse mackerel quota
- Merger gives rise to new fishing company

By Silvina Corniola
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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