Growing production of fish in Brazil

The Brazil has everything to become a powerhouse in aquaculture, following the good performance of the chicken meat, beef and swine. In these, the country already has strong emphasis on production, with good potential for supply to the internal and external demands. ´
Brazilian expansion in aquaculture will come due to the increased production of freshwater fish-like tilapia, tambaqui and pirarucu. In addition, the country has the possibility to increase the production of seafood, due to extensive coastline that has.
One of the components for the expansion of aquaculture in Brazil is the growth of grain production. These represent the main costs in the activity. That''s what shows a study of Rabobank, banco specialising in agribusiness.
Feeding the fish represents 70% of the production costs. In food, corn participates with 60% of the costs, and soybeans, with 20%.
Rabobank analysts believe that scenario favors the entry of Brazilian producers of grain in the industry. Good supply of grains and the great potential of fresh water in many farms allow the producer to add the fish in its range of production.
The brazilian production of seafood amounted to 640,000 tons last year, a number that is far away from the meat of chicken, beef and pork.
Until 2014, Brazilian imports in the sector grew 11% per year. And at least 30% of the volume consumed came from outside. From 2015, with the economic crisis and the high-dollar, the scenery begins to change. Last year''s imports decreased 71000 tonnes, while in the production increased to 87000.
In the assessment of the Bank''s analysts, the growth of tilapia production advances 10% per year. With that, in 2020, the country will be producing 490,000 tonnes of this species. In the same period, Brazil will put on the market tambaquis 330,000 tons.
The possibilities for growth are there, but the country still has a low domestic consumption. The annual consumption of fish is just 10 pounds a year, well away from the 45 pounds of chicken and beef 30.