The research updates the socioeconomic portrait of the sector and highlights its significant decentralizing impact: for every direct job generated in the southern part of the country, salmon farming supports 3.3 indirect jobs nationally.

SalmonChile released the results of the study "Economic contribution of the salmon industry in Chile", a research that updates the socioeconomic overview of this productive sector and quantifies its impact on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment and the regional and national production chain.

The findings of this study and the impact of salmon farming on multiple economic activities and regions of the country, beyond the southern areas where salmon is farmed and processed, were revealed this morning at a seminar organized by SalmonChile. The event was attended by the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Osvaldo Urrutia; the President of SalmonChile, Patricio Melero; the President of SOFOFA, Rosario Navarro; The economist and former Minister of Finance, Ignacio Briones; and the mathematician engineer and 2025 National Prize winner of the College of Engineers, Álvaro Fischer.

The main conclusion of this socioeconomic research on the impact of salmon farming at a national level is that the salmon value chain contributes $6,956 million to the national GDP, equivalent to 2.6% of Chile's total output, and supports 337,670 jobs in the country, that is, 3.8% of national employment.

In his presentation, the economist and one of the authors of the study, Federico Huneeus, indicated that “the salmon farming takes off in the south but generates a positive impact throughout the country; seven out of every 10 pesos that the industry sustains are produced outside the south, and 2 out of every 3 pesos do it outside the industry.”

Salmon farming is an industry that is a pillar in the south. We just give an example: 1 out of every 7 pesos of GDP or, approximately, 1 out of every 7 jobs in the Austral macrozone are from this industry; Second, it is an industry that reaches all of Chile and is not only limited to the south: 72% of the contribution to GDP is realized outside the four regions of origin. Third, it is not only farming, that was also something important highlighting that, for someone not directly involved in the industry, it was an important signal: more than half, 59% of the direct added value of the industry, is in processing, in manufacturing, in an industry that is sophisticated, that is of first level. And fourth, it does not stop there, but goes beyond farming, beyond processing: 2 out of 3 pesos and 3 out of 4 jobs are generated outside of "cultivation and processing," said Huneeus.

In this regard, the president of SalmonChile, Patricio Melero, highlighted the importance of having up-to-date data for the decision-making of both the authorities and the companies in the sector. “Updating this X-ray was an indispensable task. To build salmon farming in the coming years, Chile needs evidence-based decisions. Having up-to-date data is the key for authorities to legislate on a basis solid technique, for the State to design forward-looking public policies, to generate enabling conditions and for companies to continue to invest efficiently, sustainably and with legal certainty,” he said.

“This new economic report commissioned by SalmonChile corroborates what we always knew, but it also shows us a dimension that we had not measured in all its magnitude: that salmon farming is not an isolated activity in fjords, but an integrated industrial complex of national scope. That deals, promotes and promotes, like few industries, other relevant engines of the economy such as agriculture, trade, tourism, forestry and transport, among other activities, in six regions of the country,” concluded Melero.

The Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Osvaldo Urrutia, valued the results of the report and raised the need to socialize it with authorities to provide objective evidence on the economic, social and territorial impact of salmon. “I think that a summary of this report should be known to all Chilean parliamentarians, so that they can access objective information that explains why this activity is so relevant, not just as a generator of economic development, but also for 1000 real people and for entire regions (...) It is said many times that we only take care of what we want and that we only want what we know. I trust that this report, at least in those segments of our country's political elite, is genuinely interested in the development of Chile, will open their eyes. Salmon is wanted in the southern provinces, and, like the industry, has roots in the territory,” he said.

Powerful multiplier effect and quality employment

One of the main findings of the study is the magnitude of the multiplier effect of the salmon culture sector. Of the total jobs linked to the activity, 78,808 correspond to those created in its direct core (27,505 people in jobs associated with the salmon cultivation stage and 51,302 people in processing plants), while 258,862 are indirect jobs generated in the supply chain, logistics, transport, trade and local services. This means that for each direct job, salmon farming holds 3.3 additional jobs in the national economy.

In addition, the study shows that out of every $100 that the salmon farming sector generates in GDP, $65 is created outside the cultivation centers and processing plants, dynamizing thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that provide inputs, maintenance, technology and specialized services, among others.

              The conclusions of the study were commented by a conversation panel composed of Rosario Navarro, Ignacio Briones and Álvaro Fischer, who agreed that the study highlights the high added value of salmon farming, its technological sophistication, contribution to employment and applied research. In addition, they indicated that the study helps to counter the idea that industries based on natural resources generate little value added and discussed what salmon farming needs to continue to contribute to the national economy.

Briones argued that salmon farming must put its current world class standard into value and prevent others from “putting their story into the worst version.” He proposed a public-private road map with long-term growth targets (duplicating production to 10 years) and dimensioned the socio-economic weight of the sector, warning of the direct impact on national unemployment of not having this productive sector. “Let’s think just today We have an employment crisis. Direct jobs is a complete unemployment point, and if you add indirect jobs, we are at 3 points. If I did not have this industry (...) in the extreme case we would have 3 more points of unemployment”.

For his part, Navarro emphasized the urgency of communicating with data and evidence the contribution of the salmon production sector to tear down myths and rebuild citizen confidence after the crises of the past. He highlighted the nutritional value of salmon as a food for the future, called for ambitious goals to avoid stagnating in flat production and urged to promote regional and national pride around the sector. “This study is already a great one. Step, you have to start telling more about the salmon story. In the end, when you have good accounts, based on data, the value it generates is indisputable. Building such trust is fundamental,” he said.

Finally, Fischer explained that the development and competitiveness of Chilean salmon farming must be based on science, technology and R & D to solve biological challenges and raise productivity. “Modern industries, especially the world class industry, such as Chilean salmon, and which aspires to reach the top places, certainly need to make more use of science and technology (...) And from the state’s point of view: the state has to recognize that it is important that economic growth occurs, not only as a variable that appears in statistics, but also because of the impact it has on the quality of life of people,” he said.

Engine of decentralization and territorial development

The report also confirms salmon farming as the most relevant production pole in terms of economic decentralization in Chile, with a deployment ranging from the Biobío Region to Magallanes:

  • Aysén region: The salmon chain accounts for 21.4% of regional GDP and 19.3% of local employment (10,126 posts).
  • Los Lagos region: Provides 12.6 per cent of regional GDP and sustains 15.2 per cent of jobs (47,279 jobs).
  • Magellan Region: It generates 11.1% of regional GDP and 11.8% of employment (10,715 jobs).
  • Biobío Region: Despite not having cultivation centers, it maintains 42,361 jobs (38,728 indirect and 3,632 direct in plants), consolidating itself as an industrial, port and service node key for the sector.
  • Metropolitan Region: It sustains 202,872 indirect jobs due to the high demand for corporate, financial, logistical services and the dynamism of consumption generated by the income of the activity.

Support pillar for basic services in isolated communities

The study calculated the relative dependency indicator, isolating salmon farming to measure how much activity in non-mullet sectors would disappear without the financial flow that industry injects locally. In other words, the study did the hypothetical exercise of subtracting salmon farming from the economy to see how many shops and services in the region - such as transport, restaurants or school - would be impacted and to what extent.

In this way, it was determined that in the Southern Macrozone (Aysén and Magellan) the industry acts as the main support of the civil and social economy. The demand and wages generated by the sector directly support about one in ten jobs in critical community services:

  • Health: 11.5 per cent of regional employment depends on the activity of the sector.
  • Education: 11.5%.
  • Public administration: 11.1%.
  • Construction: 10.4%.
  • Electricity and Gas: 16.3%.
  • Hotels, Restaurants and Forestry: More than 12%.

Methodology

The study, entrusted to CoMov Consultores, had the expert and external advice of the economist Federico Huneeus, Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University, postdoctoral at Yale University, assistant professor at Duke University and senior economist at the Research Division of the Central Bank of Chile.

The study was structured from the academic work of Huneeus and Valle (2025), simulating the national economy as an interconnected network of 56 provinces and 47 sectors. To measure the net contribution, the model compared the economic performance observed with a counterfactual scenario without the presence of the aquaculture sector, isolating the effects of labor and productive reallocation in the long term. This, through the review of the Invoicing between these companies and combining Internal Revenue Service microdata with surveys and national accounts.