Fabián López Cancino is General Manager of forwarder Acosta and Aguayo. He explains that the fish is packed in 25kg insulated boxes with water ice or gel packs to keep the temperature down inside for the truck transfer and the subsequent flights. “The packaging is designed to minimise temperature fluctuations and ensure food safety,” he says.  

Once at Santiago Airport, the 25kg boxes are loaded onto pallets and entrusted to Cathay Cargo’s interline partners, who transport them to key international hubs where Cathay Cargo operates, including Miami, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, New York, Mexico City and even London and Madrid. On the arrival at one of Cathay Cargo’s designated online stations, the shipment is then transferred to the airline’s secure warehouse, ensuring swift and efficient onward journey to its final destination in Asia aboard Cathay Cargo’s own aircraft via its Hong Kong hub.

Cancino adds: “When choosing an airline to transport fresh salmon, we look for reliability, speed, temperature control and strong logistical support. Cathay Cargo meets all these criteria through its specialised Cathay Fresh solution.”

The vast majority of Chilean salmon, around 85 per cent according to Gallo, is transported to Shanghai and other Asian markets. Despite not flying there with its own metal, Cathay Cargo is a major player in linking South America with Asia, a fact much appreciated by shippers, such as Aqua Chile, one of the salmon major producers. “Cathay Cargo is a key partner for accessing Asian markets from South America,” the company’s Ignacio Cruz, General Manager Supply Chain, says. “Its extensive network and daily flights help minimise transit times, allowing us to offer faster delivery to our customers and at good temperatures.”

Chile facts and stats

Tonnage: 150-200 tonnes per week

Quality: 95% Superior – sashimi/restaurant

Season: All year, busier around Chinese New Year

Origins: Trucked from Puerto Montt to Santiago Airport. Then on to Cathay Cargo ports warehouses at Miami, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, New York, Mexico City, London, Madrid and then on to Hong Kong

Destinations: 85% goes to Shanghai from HKG, and other Asian destinations

South West Pacific

Sticking to the Southern Hemisphere, Australia and New Zealand are also significant suppliers. New Zealand’s market has yet to really recover to pre-pandemic levels, and volumes remain small. However, most of the country’s salmon is shipped to Japan and South Korea. Interestingly, the New Zealand is one of the few countries to specialise in Pacific salmon. The global market is dominated by the Atlantic salmon, which accounts for 99 per cent of the global market. 

In Australia, Tasmania is the southernmost export market for fresh Atlantic salmon. Frank Calderone, Area Cargo Manager Victoria, Tasmania and Southern Australia, channels most of this salmon through Melbourne. This follows the same routine as another Cathay Fresh seasonal product, Tasmanian cherries, albeit in the post-pandemic world without Cathay’s air support for the short hop to Melbourne, but via air or the sea crossing on a truck. Like the cherries, Calderone says there is a seasonal element to salmon shipments. 

“The salmon does move year round, but our high season runs from September to March,” he says. “In the high season, we’ll move around 130 to 160 tonnes a week.”

Once shipments arrive in Hong Kong, they fly on to multiple destinations on the Chinese Mainland, and to other East Asian destinations and as far west as India. 

Australia facts and stats

Tonnage: 130-160 tonnes per week (high season)

Quality: Superior quality Atlantic salmon

Season: Year-round, but high season runs from September to March

Origin: Tasmania, then on to Melbourne, to Hong Kong

Destinations: Shanghai is the biggest market, then other Chinese Mainland cities, plus Taipei, Hanoi, Tokyo, Osaka, Mumbai

New Zealand facts and stats

Tonnage: 16 tonnes a year

Quality: Superior King/Pacific salmon

Season: Year-round

Origins: Auckland to Hong Kong

Destinations: Hong Kong (Asian market has not restored post-Covid)

Norway

The biggest salmon export market in the world is Norway, and most its salmon stays fairly local with other northern European countries being the biggest importers. However, there are also exports to Asia, as well as seasonal variations influenced by sea temperatures with the peak coming from colder winter waters. 

Michael Spiegel is Area Cargo Manager for Germany, Scandinavia and Israel. “We currently ship between 50 to 70 tonnes of Norwegian salmon via our services from Frankfurt and Amsterdam,” he says. There is a potential for more, but capacity from Europe can be limited by other special solution or general cargo demand.

The salmon shipments are managed by Cathay Cargo’s GSA in Norway, NordicsGSA, part of the ECS Group. As with Chile, there is a fair distance to travel before the fish are put into Cathay Cargo’s hands. The fish are trucked in their polystyrene boxes from the wilder rural north to Oslo, where they are built up on pallets before being trucked on to Cathay Cargo’s ports at Frankfurt, Amsterdam and occasionally London. Ultimately, these shipments end up in Hong Kong, Osaka, Seoul and Taipei.

Air Cargo Logistics is one of the biggest forwarders and a perishables specialist. CEO Bent Jaabaek says: “As a provider of air capacity, it is important for us to offer our customers a reliable and stable product, with regular departures and strong backup, as well as quality service at all levels and prompt responses,” he says. 

Something that Cathay Cargo can deliver wherever in the world the journey starts.

Norway facts and stats

Tonnage: 50-70 tonnes per month

Quality: Superior grade Atlantic salmon 

Season: Strongest in Q1 and Q4

Origins: Trucked to Oslo from north and west Norway then trucked to Frankfurt and Amsterdam, and flown to Hong Kong

Main Destinations: Hong Kong, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei