Tilapia Production and
Markets
Kevin Fitzsimmons, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Arizona
Vice President, American Tilapia Association
Past - President, World Aquaculture Society
London
November, 2003 updated for Aug 2005
Introduction
Quick
review of tilapia
Explosion in tilapia trade
The US and EU Markets
Value added products
Opportunities to expand markets
Tilapia production
Currently
second in volume to carps
Prediction: Tilapia will become most
important aquaculture crop in this century
Widest demand, no religious/cultural
concerns, few environmental concerns
More genetic potential
Greatest variety of production systems
World Tilapia Production of 2,007,087 mt
in 2004
Vietnam Costa Rica
Ecuador 1%
1%
Cuba 2%
Honduras
2%
1%
Colombia
2%
Indonesia
9%
Brasil
4%
China
45%
Taiwan
5%
Thailand
5%
Mexico
6%
Philippines
6%
Egypt
11%
0
Others
United States
Honduras
Costa Rica
Vietnam
Ecuador
Cuba
Colombia
Indonesia
Brasil
Taiwan
Thailand
Mexico
Philippines
Egypt
China
metric tons per year
World Tilapia Production of
2,007,087 mt in 2004
1,000,000
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
Major Tilapia Producers
(for year 2004)
– 897,300 metric tons / year
 Egypt – 220,000 mt / year
 Indonesia – 169,310 mt / year
 Philippines - 122,277 mt / year
 Mexico - 110,000 mt / year
 Thailand - 100,000 mt / year
 Taiwan Province - 90,000 mt / year
 Brasil - 80,000 mt / year
 China
Farmed around the world.
 Tilapia
production in 100+ countries.
 China is world’s largest producer.
 Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Latin
America, Middle East significant producers
 Germany, Belgium, Spain, Canada, Korea,
Japan, most states in US
 Total production >2,000,000 mt in 2004
Global Tilapia Sales (farmgate)
For
year 2000
US $ 1,706,538,200
(FAO Fisheries Circular No. 886)
2004
sales >$ 3,000,000,000
Tilapia - the aquatic chicken
Grows
in all kinds of farms
Eats all kinds of food
Large eggs and easy to rear young
Lots of ways to prepare the fish
Large cage farms
Tilapia-shrimp polyculture farms
Ponds and
cages
Intensive tank culture
Tanks in Arizona
Tanks in California
Intensive
raceways
Raceway Systems
Extensive
raceways
Intensive farms in buildings in
cool climates
Intensive farms with recirculation
in greenhouses
Integrated with crop irrigation
How did tilapia get so popular, so fast?
Tilapia - The Perfect Aquaculture
Storm
Miracle of Loaves and Fishes
Tilapia widely popular around the
world and beyond.
Common
names: Tilapia, boulti, mojara,
chambo, lou fei, pla nil, St. Peters fish,
freshwater and/or red snapper
Used in many cuisine, hundreds of
recipes, often replaces over-fished local
species
Eggs hatched and fry reared on
International Space Station
Established market demand
Accepted
in many national dishes
Popular in many forms (live,
whole, fillets, fresh and frozen,
smoked, sashimi, fried skins)
Tilapia the “Green” farmed fish
 Herbivore
/ omnivore, low trophic level feeder
 Algae, bacteria, and detritus are important food
sources
 Prepared feeds are mostly grains and ag byproducts
 Can be reared in high densities, with low water
exchange
 Disease resistant and tolerant of poor water
quality. Anti-biotics and chemicals are rarely
used.
The “environmental” fish
 Promoted
by aid agencies and NGO’s
 Dr. M. Gupta wins World Food Prize for
promotion of tilapia aquaculture, June 10, 2005
 Grown mostly in developing countries
 Often used in integrated farming systems
 Frequently reared in reservoirs and irrigation
systems with effluents used for irrigation,
reducing fertilizer applications
Genetic improvements in tilapia
(From: Mair, G., 2002)
Research & Development
ISTA 7
(Veracruz, MEXICO Sept 6-8, 2006)
 International
Symposia on Tilapia in Aquaculture
Nutritional quality
USDA has
completed a complete
highly technical nutritional analysis.
Now is preparing nutritional report on
tilapia for the general public
New USDA “Pyramid” guidelines
further support frequent fish
consumption
Nutritional quality
 Moderate
in PUFA’s:
0.387 g/100g raw
0.600 g/100g cooked
 Moderate omega 3 FA’s: 0.141 g/100g raw
0.220 g/100g cooked
Source – USDA- ARS Lab

Low in mercury: Tilapia = 0.01 ppm (or non-detect)
Shark = 0.99 ppm
Source FDA
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html
US market development
 The
LAND opens at
EPCOT in 1983 – features
tilapia culture and on
menu in the Good Turn
Restaurant
 Farms in ID, CA, FL &
AZ begin sales to Asian
stores and restaurants
 Farms in Colombia, Costa
Rica, Jamaica Taiwan, and
Indonesia begin imports
Top Ten Seafoods (U.S.)
per capita (lbs)
2000
Tuna
Shrimp
Pollock
Salmon
Catfish
Cod
Clams
Crabs
Flatfish
Scallops
Tilapia
2001
2002
3.5 Shrimp
3.4 Shrimp
3.2 Tuna
2.9 Tuna
1.6 Salmon
2.0 Salmon
1.5 Pollock
1.2 Pollock
1.1 Catfish
1.1 Catfish
0.8 Cod
0.6 Cod
0.5 Clams
0.5 Crabs
0.4 Crabs
0.4 Clams
0.4 Flatfish
0.4 Tilapia
0.3 Tilapia 0.35 Flatfish
0.28
2003
2004 (est)
3.7 Shrimp
4.0 Shrimp
4.0
3.1 Tuna
3.4 Tuna
3.4
2.0 Salmon
2.2 Salmon
2.2
1.1 Pollock
1.7 Pollock
1.7
1.1Catfish
1.1 Catfish
1.1
0.7 Cod
0.6 Tilapia
0.7
0.6 Crabs
0.6 Cod
0.6
0.5Tilapia
0.54 Crabs
0.6
0.4 Clams
0.5 Clams
0.5
0.3 Scallops
0.3 Scallops
0.3
US Tilapia consumption
412,148,000 lbs (187,000 mt) of live weight-2003
504,716,000 lbs (229,000 mt) of live weight-2004
250,000
Metric tons
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004
19,480 mt fresh fillets, 36,160 mt frozen fillets,
57,2990 mt whole frozen (2004)
Tilapia product forms imported to the U.S.
120,000
100,000
Whole Frozen
Fillet Frozen
Fillet Fresh
60,000
40,000
20,000
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
0
1992
Metric tons
80,000
$174,215,165 (2002)
$241,205,610 (2003) $297,413,000 (2004) $
352,305,388 (est 2005)
Value
Value of
of Tilapia
Tilapia product
product forms
formsimported
imported to
to the
the U.S.
U.S.
2002
$200,000,000
$450,000,000
$180,000,000
$400,000,000
$160,000,000
$350,000,000
$140,000,000
$300,000,000
$ US
$ US
$120,000,000
$250,000,000
Whole Frozen
Whole Frozen
Fillet Frozen
Fillet Frozen
Fillet Fresh
Fillet Fresh
Whole Frozen
$100,000,000
$200,000,000
$80,000,000
$150,000,000
Fillet Frozen
$60,000,000
$100,000,000
$40,000,000
$50,000,000
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1995
2001
est 2005
1994
1994
$0
1993
1993
1992
Fillet Fresh
$0
$20,000,000
2002
$176,152,694 imports Jan-June 2005
$400,000,000
$350,000,000
$300,000,000
$250,000,000
$200,000,000
$150,000,000
$100,000,000
$50,000,000
$0
Whole
Frozen Fillet
Fresh Fillet
TOTAL
Jan-June
2005
 2005
2005 (est)
Imports should be > $ 352,305,388
US Sales of tilapia
 Imports
in 2004 were $297,413,261
 US production of $40,000,000 at farm
 2004 Total US tilapia sales were over
$337,000,000
2005 Sales estimate –
$176,152,694 (Jan-June imports) *2=
$352,305,388 + $40,000,000 =
$392,000,000
Tilapia (May 25, 2005 Madrid Daily)
 Europe
is following US trend of adopting
tilapia as replacement for traditional fishes
Major tilapia market segments
US
vs.
EU
 Live
fish (supplied by
US growers)
 Fresh fillets (supplied
by Ecuador, Honduras,
Costa Rica and
Panama)
 Frozen fillets (supplied
by China, Indonesia)
 Sashimi grades
(supplied by Taiwan)
 Live
fish (supplied by
EU growers)
 Fresh fillets (supplied
by Jamaica, Ecuador,
and Zimbabwe)
 Frozen
fillets (supplied
by China, Indonesia)
 Sashimi grades
(supplied by Taiwan)
Major fillet buyers (US)
 Major
restaurant chains (Darden Red Lobster, TGI
Fridays, Landry’s, Joe’s CrabShack, Ruby Tuesday.)
 Major grocery chains (Safeway, Kroger,
Winn-Dixie, Wegmans)
 Food service (supply small restaurant &
grocery chains) - SYSCO, Fleming Co.,
Shamrock
 Brokers - most based in Miami, Tampa,
Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New
York, Seattle
Major fillet buyers (EU)
 Major
grocery chains (TESCO, Marks &
Spencer, INTERMARCHE, Carrefour)
 Food service (supply small restaurant &
grocery chains) - Youngs
 Brokers –Iceland.co
 Brands – BirdsEye, Movenpick, iglo
Consumer evolution
Ethnic
buyers (Asian - African)
Up-scale restaurants
Casual dining
Hyper and super markets
Local groceries
Expanding markets in the EU
Quality
control and assurance
Advertising
Product placement
Endorsements
New recipes
Substitute for snapper, bass, flounder
New value added product forms
Quality control and assurance
National
standards
ISO and HACCP (Hazard Analysis at
Critical Control Points)
Industry
standards
Buyer standards
Other (NGO’s)
Improved
processing
plants
IQF Fillets
in re-sealable
packages
Tilapia Market Trends
Prices have been constant or trending down for several years,
will not increase with inflation
7
6
5
Fresh fillet
Frozen fillet
Whole
Live
3
2
1
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
0
1992
$/kg
4
Breaded tilapia products
Smoked products
Advertising
Direct retail sales
Product placement
“Saving
Faith”
Murder mystery
Detective fixes elegant tilapia
dinner to seduce the beautiful
blonde.
Endorsements
Dear Kevin,
 I recently began using farm raised Tilapia fillets. I buy
these in individual vacuum sealed packages in one
pound bags at Wal-Mart. 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 LOVE THE PRODUCT!!!!
 Marian Birnie Aug. 12, 2001

New recipes
New recipes
By-products
Leather
goods from skin will
become a significant contributor
to profitability
Pharmaceuticals from skins
Formed fish products
Fertilizer
Fish meal
Flowers made from Tilapia scales
Typical prices for Tilapia products
sold in the U.S. (August 2005.)
Whole live fish
Whole frozen
fish
Whole fresh
fish
Fillets, fresh
Fillets, frozen
Pondside/Processor
$/kg
2.20 - 6.60
1.10 - 2.00
Wholesale
$/kg
Retail
$/kg
2.80 - 7.50
2.00 - 2.35
4.00 - 10.00
2.20 - 5.00
2.30 - 3.00
3.00 - 4.00
4.00 - 9.00
5.00 - 7.00
4.80 - 6.75
6.00 - 8.00
5.50 - 7.80
8.00 - 12.00
7.00 - 11.50
Fresh tilapia fillet products
 Size
(under 3 oz, < 85 g)
3-5 oz,
85 - 140 g
4-6 oz,
110 - 170 g
5-7 oz,
140 - 195 g
over 7 oz,
> 195 g
 Skin on, shallow skin or deep skin
 Individual wrap, 2 or 5 kg package, master
pack
Fresh tilapia fillet product prices
FOB Miami
 Size
(under 3 oz, < 85 g) $2.80 - 3.00/lb
3-5 oz, 85 - 140 g
$3.00 - 3.10/lb
4-6 oz, 110 - 170 g
$3.10 - 3.25/lb
5-7 oz, 140 - 195 g
$3.15 - 3.40/lb
over 7 oz, > 195 g
$3.35 - 3.55/lb
 Variation in prices due to skinning,
packaging, volumes and history with buyer
 Additional variations with terms of payment
Mexico - 110,000 mt
Tilapia-shrimp farm in Sonora
Pond Tilapia farm
in Tamaulipas
Markets in Mexico
Raceway system, Tamaulipas
 Strong
domestic
markets; on ice,
fillets in grocery
stores
 All domestic
consumption Will eventually
develop export
markets.
Brasil - 80,000 mt
Tilapia production & Markets in Brasil
Production
in Southeast and Northeast
Red tilapia in Southeast for fee-fishing
and food
Cage farms allowed in NE reservoirs.
Tilapia leather industry
Jump in interest with ISTA 5 in Rio.
Developing export markets.
Tilapia production in Ecuador
35,000 mt
Replacing
shrimp because of white
spot and other shrimp diseases
Using shrimp infrastructure
Exporting to US and EU
Benefits to shrimp culture with
polyculture
Tilapia production in Ecuador
and shrimp viral infections
TILAPIA PRODUCTION IN ECUADOR
40,000
35,000
Production (mt)
30,000
25,000
20,000
White Spot
15,000
10,000
IHHN
5,000
Taura
0
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Year
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Red strains of tilapia most popular
for brackish polyculture systems
Tilapia production in outside
ponds with shrimp in covered
ponds
Costa Rica - 15,000 mt
Acuacorporacion ponds in Cañas, Costa Rica
Jamaica - 5,200 mt
Tilapia production 1980-2001
6000
Tonnes
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
Year
94
96
98
2000 2001
USA  9,000 mt
Production
in most states
Mostly intensive systems, many
recirculating
Sales to ethnic markets as live
fish, high value
US Tilapia Aquaculture
 9,200
mt per year (20,000,000 lbs)
 California is largest producer
 ID, NC, FL, TX, AZ, NY,PA, MA are also
significant producers
 Virtually all tilapia in US for live sales
 Asian groceries and restaurants are primary
market outlets
EU / US Supply and Demand
TRENDS
Supply
of fillets primarily from
China, Southeast Asia, South and
Central America.
Demand for live fish needs to
expand beyond Asian markets
With rapid increases in supply,
demand must increase at least as
fast to support price.
Major Tilapia Producers in
International Trade
China
- whole frozen, IQF fillets
Ecuador - fresh fillets
Taiwan - whole, IQF, sashimi
South & Central America - fresh fillets
Zimbabwe - Fresh fillets
Indonesia - IQF fillets
Thailand - IQF fillets
Current International Market Trends
Increase
in demand for all forms of
tilapia
Demand increase will be greatest for
fresh fillets
Prices have been constant for several
years and will remain stable, will not
increase with inflation
Changes and Predictions
Further
intensification in
virtually every country
Changes and Predictions
EU
/ US production will increase slowly,
intensifying current production methods
Changes and Predictions
Polyculture
with shrimp will
become common in most
shrimp farming areas (already
practiced in Thailand, Philippines, Mexico, US,
Ecuador, Peru, Eritrea)
Tilapia - shrimp polyculture
Floating cage
Hapa (net pen)
Changes and Predictions
Production
will be 75%
Oreochromis niloticus, 20%
Red strains, O. aureus and O.
mossambicus mostly for
hybridization
Changes and Predictions
Production
will be 50%
intensive ponds, 35% cages,
10% intensive recirculating and
tank systems, 5 % other
Predictions for Value-added
products
Processing
and "value-adding"
will intensify in producing
countries
Sashimi
Fried tilapia skins
Future global tilapia production
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
2010
2006
2005
2004
0
2003
500
2002
Metric tons (000)
3,000
Thank-you !

Questions?
Production of Tilapia in the
Americas 2002 (by volume)
COSTA RICA
5%
CUBA
12%
JAMAICA
2%
OTHERS
1%
BRAZIL
23%
HONDURAS
4%
COLOMBIA
7%
ECUADOR
8%
US
3%
MEXICO
35%
Tilapia production in the Americas
Strain evaluations
 For
saline waters - Hybrid red strains are
preferred
 For cage and pond culture Chitralada strain
of O. niloticus originally from Thailand and
further developed in Brasil.
 The GIFT strain of O. niloticus, originally
developed in Philippines is most common in
Philippines and China
 YY Super males - Genetically Male Tilapia
Estimated cost of production
 China
- $0.70/kg
 Philippines, Indonesia, Brasil - $0.80/kg
 Thailand, Peru - $0.85/kg
 Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica - $0.90/kg
 Mexico - $1.00/kg
 Taiwan Province - $1.05/kg
 US - $2.00/kg
 Canada - $2.10/kg
US. Tilapia imports 1993-2002
Sources of imported tilapia to US
(LWE in m e tric tons )
120000
others
Thailand
100000
Indonesia
Colombia
80000
China
60000
Mexico
Jamaica
40000
Ecuador
20000
Costa Rica
Taiw an
0
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
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