SANTIAGO, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's demand for Chilean salmon doubled in the first six months of the year compared with the same period last year, local media reported on Monday.
China's purchases rose from nearly 12,000 tons in the first six months of last year to about 24,000 tons in the same period of 2018, according to a report published by the daily El Mercurio.
Arturo Clement, the president of industry group SalmonChile, told reporters that the sector expects sales to China "to keep growing, driven by an increase in demand."
"In addition to the marketing we do in the United States, the second country we should focus on is China," said Clement.
Chile's salmon sales to Russia also grew, from 20,000 tons in the first six months of 2017 to 36,000 tons in the first six months of 2018, mainly because Russia closed its market to Norwegian salmon.
In total, salmon sales of the Latin American country reached 452,000 tons from January to June, an increase of 25 percent year-on-year.
After copper, salmon is the South American country's second biggest export, averagely generating 4 billion U.S. dollars a year.
