Transformations of the
retail fish market in
Brazil and its impacts
on small scale fish
farming
Manoel Pedroza PhD
Embrapa Fisheries and Aquaculture
(Brazilian Agricultural Research
Corporation / Ministry of Agriculture)
Context
 Development of aquaculture in Brazil
 Availability of production factors and increase on
demand
 Small scale fish farming in Brazil
 Importance for local economy, food security and
environment
 Emergence of supermarket in the Brazilian
seafood market
Potential of Brazil seafood industry
On production...
 8,500 Km of marine coast;
 12% of total world fresh water;
 5.5 million ha of flooded areas, mainly hydroelectric
plant reservoirs  Up to 1% (55,000 ha) available
for aquaculture
…And on demand
 Increasing fish per capita consumption
6.8 kg in 2002 to 9.7 kg in 2010
 Large population  200 million inhabitants
Brazilian fisheries and aquaculture production
1990-2011
1,600,000
1.434.000
Production (tonnes)
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
Annual production increased
by 31% from 2008 to 2011
200,000
0
Aquicultura
Aquaculture
Pesca
Extrativa
Capture
fisheries
Source: Brazilian Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012.
Total
Total
Per capita consumption of meat in Brazil
 Brazil is among world 5 big meat consumers (Source: USDA)
 Fish: greater increase in consumption from 2006 to 2010
Fish
Pescado
50.00
45.00
40.00
35.00
30.00
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
43.30
35.80
Beef Cattle
Bovinos
41.70
37.40
Pork
Suínos
Poultry
Aves
39.00
38.60
36.60
35.60
13.00
12.80
13.10
13.40
7.28
7.71
8.36
9.03
2006
2007
2008
Source: : Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Ministry of Agriculture.
2009
43.90
37.20
23%
- 14%
8%
14.00
9.75
2010
34%
Importance of small scale fish
farming
 Economic diversification by using in-farm
resources
 Food security
 Improvement of protein availability by inclusion of
fish in daily diet
 Reduction of fisheries pressure on local
aquatic resources
Small-scale fish farming in Brazil
Strongly based on economies of scope
Water reservoir
for cattle
Utilization of
byproducts
Familiar
labour force
Emergence of supermarket in the
Brazilian seafood market
 Directly related to:
 Increasing on income (specially in middle and small sized cities)
 Growth of fish supply by farming instead fisheries
 Regularity in terms of price, quality and volume
 Strong concurrence to traditional seafood retail channels
(street market, fish shops, fishmongers, direct sale)
 Main strategies
 Reduced margins
 Fish as an attractive for customer 'visits in the supermarket
 Strong marketing and promotion actions
Traditional retail
channels
Supermarkets
Availability
Promotion
Price
Methods
 Exploratory and qualitative research
 Approach of Global Value Chain
 Semi-structured interviews with 123
agents of different nodes of the value
chain in the Tocantins state (northern of
Brazil)
Araguatins
Axixá
Sitio Novo
Xambioá
Araguanã
Araguaína
Paraíso
Abreulândia
Agents interviewedDivinópolis
Producers
Retailers/Wholesalers
Processing plants
Institutions
Experts/consultants
Monte do
Carmo
Almas
Porto
Nacional
Brejinho de
Nazaré
Aliança do
Tocantins
Gurupi
Inputs suppliers
Palmas
Dianópolis
Results
The case of the Tocantins state
Aquaculture value chain in Tocantins state
 Natural conditions (water and very high temperatures)
 Increase in production of 635% between 2000 to 2010
Fish farming production in Tocantins, 2000 to 2010 (Tonnes)
Source: IBAMA/MPA (Brazilian Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture)
 Heterogeneity in terms of fish farmers profile:
 About 1.000 fish farmers  most part smallholders
AraguaiaTocantins rivers
Bassin
Small-scale fish farmer
Water surface area : 0,1 ha
Large fish farmer
Water surface area: 1.000 ha
Fish processing plant structure in Tocantins state
Large producers:
Small scale fish farmers:
4 processing plants working
3 collective processing plant out of service
Evolution of the local retail market
 Competition with large producers in the local market :
Destination of fish farming
production of Tocantins
(by state, % volume)
 Emergence of the supermarkets:
Fish sales- “Quartetto”
supermarket (tonnes)
Small-scale fish farmers supply traditional retail channels
Large fish farmers supply supermarkets

City of Araguaína:
2002 – 12 fish shops
2012 – 6 fish shops

Difficulty in reach
supermarket
requirements
Scale, regularity and
quality
Complexity due to
high perishability
(price, volume, quality
and regularity)
Reduction of
traditional retailers
(street market, fish
shops, fishmongers,
direct sale)
Strong competition
with large producers
Exclusion
of small
scale fish
farmers
Low technological level
and high production costs
Conclusion
What paths to ensure sustainability of the smallholder
fish farming?
 Strategies to adding value
 Product differentiation
 Certification, processing....etc.
 Access to new markets channels
 Governmental food security programs, short channels…etc.
 Cooperative initiatives
 Increasing in scale, improvement in logistics and quality
BUT.... WHICH FORM OF COOPERATION...??
Thank you!
Obrigado!
manoel.pedroza@embrapa.br