PROCESSING AND MyUiKETING 



The trawlers, when fishing for shrijiip or langostino, leave 

 early in the morning and return in late afternoon on the same day. No 

 ice is used, and the catch is not headed at sea. Shrimp and langostinos 

 are handled in the same manner. Upon arriving at the plant they are 

 immediately boiled in sea water, allowed to cool, and then headed and 

 peeled by hand. Most of the meats are placed in cold storage in plastic 

 bags for sale the next morning. Those destined for freezing are layer- 

 packed in stainless-steel trays holding 7 o\inces of meats, then covered 

 with water and frozen. 



In 195U about 60 thousand pounds of whole shrimp were processed. 

 The yield was about 13 percent of this amount in cooked-peeled meats. 

 Langostinos apparently yield only about 7 percent of cooked-peeled meats 

 per unit weight of the live animal. 



The local demand for langostinos has increased rapidly during 

 the past three years. Before 1953 so fevf were sold that no production 

 records were kept. In Santiago in September and October 1955, however, 

 they were on almost all menus in the majority of the restaurants. 



Langostinos are mostly marketed cooked-peeled or frozen cooked- 

 peeled, though some are canned and some sold raw whole. The popular 

 retail style in Santiago is cooked-peeled in transparent plastic bags of 

 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) which retails for about 60 cents at the free 

 rate of exchange, October 1955. 



The cooked meats are cocktail size and flattened rather than 

 cylindrical like shrimp and prawn. 



There is no government inspection or supervision for either 

 grades or quality control. 



FOREIGN TRADE 



Chile does not export shrimp in any form. There are no 

 export taxes on shrimp. Export permits are required for all fishery- 

 products, and quotas for the local markets must be fulfilled before 

 export permits are granted. Local price ceilings apply to shrimp and 

 other seafoods. Langostinos exports to the United States began in 1956. 



The fishing and whaling industries, by special decree and for 

 a period of 10 years from August 3, 1953, are the only industries in Chile 

 which may freely use foreign exchange derived from export sales. If a 

 company makes use of this privilege, it may not take advantage of the 

 official foreign-exchange rate for importation of machinery, boats, and 

 fishing gear. Some fishing companies take advantage of this foreign- 

 exchange privilege while others do not. Their decision is based mostly 

 on anticipated imports of machinery and equipment. 



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