INDUSTRIAL AGGLOMERATIONS: THE CASE OF THE SALMON INDUSTRY IN CHILE

Aquaculture experienced a significant global expansion at the end of the 20th century, becoming one of the fastest growing sectors of animal husbandry and production during that period. Chile's contribution to world expansion of salmon and trout production was notorious, given that in a short twenty five-year period it became one of the leading world producers. One prominent feature of salmon production in Chile is that the industry concentrated geographically in a limited area around Puerto Montt, in Region 10 of the country. Industry concentration cannot be exclusively explained in terms of natural advantages, and evidence is presented in favour of Venables's model (1996). A qualitative analysis of the evolution of the industry is presented to provide evidence of input-output linkages, economies of scale, competition and the progressive multiplication of inputs, applying two types of data sources: a review of the existing technical literature on the subject and in-depth interviews with 20 industry experts.