Giant squid is an important player in Peru´s seafood exports. (Photo: PromPeru)

Demand from Asian markets boosts Peruvian exports of frozen squid

PERU
Monday, April 22, 2019, 22:40 (GMT + 9)

After the impact in the non-traditional fishing sector as a result of the El Niño phenomenon in 2017, which affected exports of squid, frozen fish and shrimp, shipments recovered in 2018, and this same positive trend is expected to continue this year.

One of the most requested products is giant squid, which has a very encouraging outlook, mainly in Asian markets such as China, South Korea and Thailand, said Diego Blotte, Country Manager of Maersk Peru.

According to the studies of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), China tripled its imports of seafood in the last six years.

In addition, it is projected that there will be an 80 per cent increase in demand over the next five years, placing the Asian giant as the main importer of this sector in the world.

Container ship of Maersk in a Peruvian port

Also, the Country Manager of Maersk Peru mentioned that after the Asian destinations, in the list of squid shipments include Spain and other destinations in Europe, which have also intensified their orders this year.

It is important to note that the variety of squid presentations has been gaining more participation in international markets.

He said that, in order to continue supporting Peru's leadership in the frozen containerized cargo industry, actions and tools are constantly being developed to ensure that each stage of the transport process responds to the requirements of exporters and importers, as well as to the needs of care of the products.

Perishable products, such as squid, need maintenance and temperature control along the chain.

Photo: PSK Oceanos

Therefore, one of the services offered by Maersk in the cold chain is a remote management system for refrigerated containers (RCM) that allows exporters to monitor the location, temperature and atmospheric conditions of their cargo in real time and throughout the entire journey.

"RCM automatically notifies the owner of the cargo contract if there is a possible malfunction or mismatch in the gas or temperature levels of the containers, providing the opportunity to correct, take preventive actions, or notify the receivers of the status of the product," explained Diego Blotte.

Peruvian giant squid in the world

According to the Ministry of Production, at the national level, the capture of giant siquid (Peruvian 'pota') is the second most important fishing activity in Peru, both in volume and exported value.

Also, as indicated by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur), giant squid is the main Peruvian export product of the non-traditional fishing sector (52 per cent share), followed by shrimp (14 per cent). An average of 265,000 tonnes of frozen squid is exported annually.

According to the Committee for the Sustainable Management of the Giant Squid of the South Pacific (Calamasur), Peru is the second world exporter of this hydrobiological resource, concentrating 14 per cent of the total shipments.

Peru is only surpassed by China (22 per cent), but it is ahead of the United States (8 per cent), Spain (6 per cent), North Korea (5 per cent), India (5 per cent) and Taiwan (5 per cent), Chile (4 per cent) and Argentina (4 per cent).

Source: Agencia Andina

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