Maintains high import of 15% of the demand for fish

Fish consumption in lent should increase 15% this year. A demand that will be supported by import, since the production of fish in Brazil meets only two-thirds of consumption annually.
Fish consumption in the country may reach 2.5 million tons this year, up 20%. But the offer should not exceed 1.4 million, with the average annual increase of 10% estimated by the Ministry of fisheries and aquaculture (MPA). Soon, the product of Asian countries, such as Viet Nam, tends to make space in the country.
"Lack of investment in new technologies to increase production", says the President of the Union of shipowners and fishing Industries of Itajaí and region (Sindipi), Francisco Monteiro. The entity represents the polo fish production of Santa Catarina, where 80% of fish caught industrialize in Brazil.
Sindipi related industries there are 15% growth of the sale of fish in the current period of Lent, in comparison to the previous one. Without informing the sales volume in the period, Monteiro says that imports remain, during the season, at the same level as the rest of the year: 35%, on average.
"The domestic industry is unlikely to compete with the foreign tax burden and due to the high production costs in Brazil", compares Monteiro.
The Union complains that fisheries and aquaculture do not enjoy the same tax benefits granted to activities that involve other animal proteins. And says that the Elimination of the basic basket items announced a week ago by the federal Government little influence in the productive chain of the flesh of fish.
"In the last week, Dilma [Rousseff, Brazil's President] launched the exemption of the basket, which benefits the industry, but only at the tip of the retail-and we have many taxes in the production chain, much less than other sectors of animal protein. And the sector has not yet been framed as ' agribusiness ', which would bring income tax exemption on industrial investments, for example ", declares the President of Sindipi.
Potential for growth of aquaculture development (creating non-extractive fish) and greater exploitation of the Brazilian coast in the Exclusive economic zones (ZEEs) constitute the potential growth in the supply of fish in the country.

The federal Government provides, through the new plan Harvest fisheries and Aquaculture, r $ 4.1 billion in credit for the modernization of the sector, which has a gross domestic product (GDP) of $ 5 billion-2012.
For specialists of the MPA, the hydroelectric dams contain the success formula of fish farming: are 250 shells, with 3.5 million hectares of water mirror that could be employed in this economic activity. 1% of this total area is sufficient to make a leap.
The Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (Ibama) recently released the use for aquaculture five reservoirs in the Tocantins River. Only these will be capable, when fully utilized, providing an increase of 50% of the Brazilian production of fish, according to information provided by the MPA.
The Brazil has the potential to produce 20 million tons of fish a year by 2030, when world production should be of 226 million, provides for the United Nations Organization for food and Agriculture (FAO-UN).
Currently, world production of fish is estimated at more than 130 million tons per year.