FISHERIES AND MARKET FOR FISHERY PRODUCTS IN MEXICO, ETC. 37 



well known and liked, but this district is in a state of profound 

 industrial depression owing to the lack of demand for its one product, 

 nitrate of soda. Nearly all the plants are closed down, thousands 

 of idle laborers have been sent to the south, and business is at a 

 standstill. The high foreign exchange makes it impracticable to 

 import anything but the barest necessities. American exporters 

 would do well to attempt to make only small sales, more as a matter 

 of advertising than anything else, until the revival of business, 

 which it is hoped will take place in 1922. 



ANTOFAGASTA. 



[By B. C. Matthews, vice consul, October 15, 1921.] 



In this consular district local fishermen supply fresh fish. The 

 quantities caught and sold are for local consumption and are negli- 

 gible. The catch is sold the same day it reaches shore. There are 

 no refrigeration plants here, and no part of the local catch is stored 

 or preserved. The methods of fishing are both by nets and lines, 

 and all the catch is salt-water fishes taken a few miles from shore. 

 There are no exports or reexports of fishery products from this 

 district. 



In 1917 salmon to the value of 82,033 Chilean gold of 18 pence 

 were imported at Antofagasta, the principal countries of origin in 

 order of importance being United States, Great Britain, and Japan. 

 In the same year dried fish to the value of 6,661 Chilean gold of 18 



Eence were imported, the countries of origin in order of importance 

 eing the United States, Japan, and Great Britain. Sardines to the 

 value of 54,613 Chilean gold of 18 pence were imported in 1917, the 

 principal countries of origin in order of importance being Spain, the 

 United States, and France. 



There is a decided preference for Spanish sardines packed in olive 

 oil, the trade mark being "Curbera. This is an excellent product, 

 and because of the grade of the oil used it is considered superior to 

 any other product imported here. The major portion of the salmon 

 importations come from the United States, and a low grade, "Chum," 

 forms the bulk of this trade. However, there is a good demand for 

 pink salmon here when prices are not too high. Salmon are im- 

 ported from England, but the demand is not large. Dried codfish 

 in packets of 1 pound is salable, and sometimes in tins of 1 1 and 23 

 pounds. The imports are mostly from Scandinavian countries and 

 Japan. The Scandinavian product is gffod and of excellent flavor, 

 perhaps more palatable than the Alaskan article that arrives here 

 from San Francisco. 



The wholesalers and retailers here are familiar with the different 

 qualities of American salmon, and the increased demand for this 

 product really rests more upon the cost to the consumer. With re- 

 gard to sardines it is not believed there is much room for competition 

 with the Spanish product unless an oil equal in quality is used in the 

 preservation of small sardines. The larger sardines put up in 1- 

 pound oval tins, packed in California, have established themselves in 

 this market, apparently to stay. It would seem that fish packers 

 on the Pacific coast should keep in constant touch with this market 

 through their exporting houses in San Francisco, and for the grades 

 of sardines packed in cottonseed oil on the Maine coast packers 



