World Tilapia Markets in 2001 Kevin Fitzsimmons, Ph.D. Professor - University of Arizona Sec. / Tres. - American Tilapia Association President - US. Aquaculture Soc. Chapter of WAS October 2001

Introduction F Review worldwide tilapia production F Advances in production technologies F Examine production costs F Examine current tilapia markets F Discuss problems of supply and demand F Opportunities to expand markets

Tilapia introductions around the world F Oreochromis mossambicus first to be widely distributed in 1930’s and 1940’s. F To United States in 1954 F Oreochromis aureus introduced in 1950’s and 1960’s. F Oreochromis niloticus introduced in 1970’s F Red strains developed in 1970’s and 80’s F Oreochromis niloticus spreads in 1990’s F Total production of 900,000 mt in 2000

Production widely distributed around the world. F FAO reports production in 85 countries. F East Asia, Indonesia, Latin America, Caribbean, Middle East, are primary tropical producers F Germany, Belgium, Spain, Canada, Korea, Japan, most states in US

Production widely distributed around the world. F Wild catch being replaced by farm raised F Used in many cuisine, hundreds of recipes F Tilapia, boulti, pla nil, mojara, St. Peters fish, freshwater snapper

Grows well in most production systems F Ponds F Cages F Raceways, round tanks, recirculating systems F Ranching (lake releases) F Freshwater, Brackish water, Estuarine, and Marine

Grows well in most production systems F Polyculture with shrimp, catfish, carp F Herbivorous and /or omnivorous F Good growth in fertilized ponds F Many agricultural by-products can be used in tilapia feeds or to fertilize ponds

Pond culture in the Philippines

Ponds and cages Farm pond in Brazil Reservoir pond in Arizona

Cages in irrigation ditches

Cages in Egypt 10 m 2 cages near Alexandria

Cages in Irrigation Reservoirs 100 m 2 cages in Philippines

Intensive ponds Ponds in Arizona Ponds in Costa Rica

Intensive tanks Tanks in Arizona Tanks in California

Intensive Raceway Systems Raceways in Arizona Raceways in Mexico

Production directly in delivery ditches

Pond culture to cotton irrigation

Other benefits of Tilapia F Simple hatchery technology F Disease resistant F Grow well at high densities F Several color variants available F More “domesticated” than most aquaculture crops

Red strain of tilapia

Established market demand F Accepted in many national dishes F Popular in many forms F Live, Whole, fillets, fresh and frozen, smoked, sashimi

Problem (opportunity) areas F Low fillet recovery rate F Slow growing females F Off-flavors

Advances and Solutions: Low fillet recovery rate F Selective breeding programs (GIFT, Israel, US) F Tilapia genome project F Transgenics - Growth hormones F Growth enhancers - Bovine Somatotropins F Better processing equipment

Advances and Solutions: Slow growing females F Methyltestosterone F Genetically male tilapia F All male hybrids F High density culture F O. niloticus with larger females

Advances and Solutions: Off-flavors F Depuration systems F Control of blue-green algae F Production in systems with limited access to benthic algae (cages, recirculating, indoors)

Major Tilapia Producers (estimate for year 2000) F China - 450,000 metric tons / year F Mexico - 102,000 mt / year F Philippines - 90,000 mt / year F Taiwan Province - 90,000 mt / year F Indonesia - 50,000 mt / year F Brazil - 45,000 mt / year F Thailand - 40,000 mt / year

Major Tilapia Producers in the Americas (for year 2000) F Mexico - 102,000 metric tons/year F Brazil - 45,000 mt / year F Cuba - 39,000 mt / year F Colombia - 23,000 mt / year F Ecuador - 15,000 mt / year F Costa Rica - 10,000 mt / year F USA - 8,200 mt / year F Honduras - 5,000 mt / year

Major Tilapia Producers in International Trade F China - whole frozen, IQF fillets F Philippines - fresh (all domestic) F Taiwan - whole & IQF, sashimi F Mexico - fresh (all domestic) F Indonesia - IQF fillets F Thailand - IQF fillets

Estimated cost of production F China - $1.00 / kg F Philippines - $1.10 / kg F Taiwan - $1.50 / kg F Mexico - $1.30 / kg F Indonesia - $1.20 / kg F Thailand - $1.30 / kg

Typical prices for Tilapia products sold in the U.S. (October 2001.)

Species produced F Shrimp, trout, tilapia, catfish, grass carp and many other species can be grown in irrigation water.

Carbon monoxide debate F CO used to preserve fillets F Maintains “fresh appearance” F Still under review as treatment F May improve shelf life, reduce bacteria F May have to report as treated with a preservative

Supply and Demand F Supply primarily from tropical countries F Demand is in producer countries and US F With rapid increases in supply, demand must increase at least as fast to support price.

Production of Tilapia in the Americas 2000 (by volume)

Major Tilapia Products in International Trade F Costa Rica - fresh fillets F Ecuador - fresh and frozen fillets F Honduras and Jamaica - fresh and frozen fillets F Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba USA - strong domestic demands, minimal exports

Estimated cost of production F Brazil, Ecuador, Cuba - $1.10 / kg F Costa Rica, Jamaica - $1.20 / kg F Colombia, Mexico - $1.25 / kg F USA - $2.00 / kg F Canada - $2.10 / kg

International markets F Costa Rica was first major exporter F Ecuador is now major exporter from the Americas F Honduras has rapid expansion F Colombia, Cuba, Brazil and Mexico are supplying strong domestic markets F Prices on international markets will not increase from present levels.

International markets F Ecuador has passed Costa Rica as supplier of fillets to US F Ecuador integrating with shrimp production F Colombia and Mexico were exporters to US, but exports levels decreased while production increased

Tilapia production and Markets in Mexico F Production in most states of Mexico F Intensive in north, lake ranching in south F Strong domestic markets; on ice, fillets in grocery stores F Will eventually develop export markets.

Tilapia production & Markets in Brasil F Production in Southeast and Northeast F Red tilapia in Southeast for fee-fishing and food F Cage farms allowed in NE reservoirs. F Tilapia leather industry F Jump in interest with ISTA 5 in Rio. F Will eventually develop export markets.

Tilapia production in Ecuador F Replacing shrimp because of white spot disease F Using shrimp infrastructure F Exporting to US and EU F Will they revert to shrimp if disease is controlled?

Tilapia aquaculture in Ecuador

US Tilapia consumption (mt)

Source of US Tilapia supply 2000 (by volume)

US. Tilapia imports

Value of tilapia products imported to U.S.

Tilapia Production in the US = Live Sales

Internet Tilapia Market sites

International market changes F Increasing domestic consumption in producing countries especially Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica F Colombia starting to export again, Mexico and Brazil will follow

Current International Market Trends F Increase in demand for all forms of tilapia F Demand increase will be greatest for fresh fillets F Prices have been constant for several years and will remain stable, will not increase with inflation.

Current International Market Trends F US and EU growers will concentrate on live sales and highly processed forms F Latin America and Southeast Asia will be primary US suppliers F Latin America, Caribbean and Africa will supply EU

Marketing - Push vs. Pull F Push = get distributors to take more product F Pull = get consumers to demand more product F Push = often more expenses with product, price and profit lower F Pull = advertising, higher prices and profits

Marketing - Push F Lower price F Advertise in business magazine F Value adding to product F Better packaging

Marketing - Pull F Advertise to consumer F Advertise in general interest magazine F Product placement F Value adding to product F Better packaging F Testimonials

F Dear Kevin, F I have recently began using Tilapia fillets farm raised by Sea Best and distributed by Beaver Street Fisheries, Inc. I buy these in individual vacuum sealed packages in one pound bags at Wal-Mart in San Marcos, Texas. My husband has diabetes and we both are very weight conscious. This fish is the perfect food item for us, I love the way it is packaged, just use what I need for one meal, it is reasonably priced, always available in the market and consistently high quality. I trust you will forward these comments to the producer. F I LOVE THE PRODUCT!!!! F Marian Birnie Aug. 12, 2001

Packaging and Delivery

New product forms - Push and Pull Smoked tilapia Sashimi grade tilapia

Changes and Predictions F Further intensification in virtually every country F Production will be 75% Oreochromis niloticus, 20% Red strains, O. aureus and O. mossambicus mostly for hybridization F Production will be 50% intensive ponds, 25% cages, 10% intensive recirculating systems

Changes and Predictions F Further intensification in virtually every country F Production will be 75% Oreochromis niloticus, 20% Red strains, O. aureus and O. mossambicus mostly for hybridization F Production will be 50% intensive ponds, 25% cages, 10% intensive recirculating systems

Changes and Predictions F Further intensification in virtually every country F Production will be 75% Oreochromis niloticus, 20% Red strains, O. aureus and O. mossambicus mostly for hybridization F Production will be 50% intensive ponds, 25% cages, 10% intensive recirculating systems

Changes and Predictions F Leather goods from skin will become a significant contributor to profitability F Processing and "value-adding" will intensify in producing countries F Polyculture with shrimp will become common in most shrimp farming areas

Changes and Predictions F Processing and "value-adding" will intensify in producing countries

Changes and Predictions F US production will increase slowly, intensifying current production methods F Production in the Americas will reach 500,000 mt by 2010 and 1,000,000 mt by 2020

Conclusions - Marketing tilapia F Increasing demand / markets should begin in producing country F Opening new markets will be required in US F Plenty of techniques can be used to build markets F Many are free or low cost (product placement, samples, live tanks, Web sites) F Most effective forms require investment