Between 2020 and 2023, the production of the fishing industry in the country already grew by 500%with the same proportion in terms of generation of direct and indirect jobs And between this year and next, even greater growth is expected, which would place the country among the largest producers in Latin America.
The data corresponds to a study of the Latin American Foundation for Fisheries Sustainability (FULASP) according to which, in the last three years, local aquaculture has not stopped growing. This sector already managed to generate millions of dollarsis becoming a fundamental actor for the employment generation in the extra-Pampean areas and collaborates strongly in import substitution.
As for the numbers, the report shows that, between January 2020 and December 2023 (the data is consolidated in May of this year), production rose from 2,090 tons to 9,500 averageshowing an exponential growth of activity in the national territory.
Fishing: projections for 2024
In turn, the survey projects that, in 2024, production will grow between 20% and 30% more, placing the estimate between 12,000 and 13,000 tons. Regarding employment, the projection foresees a 200% increase among all positions related to the activity.
About, Raúl Cereseto, president of FULASPpointed out that Argentina “has a great potential in aquaculture which is already being observed in the aforementioned data” and added that “it is a sector that has quickly become a source of employment and economic development that can position the country as one of the pillars of food for the entire planet.” ”.
In the country, the sector today has its most notable works underway in the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, Misiones and Chacoalthough there are also important crops in Corrientes, in the Province of Buenos Aires, in Tierra del Fuego and, to a lesser extent, Mendoza.
Sown species
Among all these redoubts, species such as Bogas, Carps, Dorados, Mussels, Oysters, Pacú, Ranas and Surubíes, among other. In 2024, it is expected that exports of farmed mussels will begin to strengthen, something unprecedented for Argentina, and trout exports to Japan and the United States, two fundamental markets with a lot of growth prospects.
At the same time, the report maintains that work will continue for import substitutionbasically Chilean salmon, for the local trout and that oysters produced in the province of Buenos Aires will begin to be mass marketed.
Currently, throughout the world, more than Half of the fish humans consume comes from aquaculturewhich shows that if the exports for this activity represent 45% of the foreign exchange generated by fish in our country, this sector will see that it has a short-term potential of around billions, and that, in addition, it could greatly exceed the direct and indirect jobs that the industry generates today. extractive fishing.
In that sense, the FULASP projects record numbers between 2024 and 2025 for our country, which would potentially place Argentina in fourth place in Latin America in terms of proportional growth, just behind Chile, Brazil and Ecuador.
Following these data, finally, Cereseto stressed the importance of “the National State keeping the aquacultureand its close link with the producers” because “it is an activity that is greatly increasing the country’s coffers, which significantly increases the national GDP and that contributes a lot to job creation.”
Source: Ambito
