1. REVIEW – GLOBAL ADVANCES IN TILAPIA PRODUCTION AND MARKETING – 2008
Kevin Fitzsimmons, Ph.D.
Sec. Tres. American Tilapia Association
Past President – World Aquaculture Society
Professor, University of Arizona
Busan, Korea
World Aquaculture Meetings
May 23, 2008

2. Overview Global perspective US and EU markets for tilapia products
Processing and packaging changes
New products
Demands on farmers
Future trends

5. Global production of tilapia

6. Top Ten Seafoods (U.S.) per capita (lbs)

7. Percentage of US finfish sales
% of sales

8. US Tilapia consumption (imports and domestic) 229,000 mt of live weight (equivalent) ,410 mt of live weight (equivalent) – ,295 mt of live weight (equivalent) – ,000 mt of live weight (equivalent)

9. US Consumption of tilapia from domestic and imported sources

10. 26,176 mt fresh fillets, 100,636 mt frozen fillets, 46,943 mt whole frozen (2007)

11. $297,413,000 (2004) $392,978,298 (2005) $482,742,515 (2006), $559,788,809 (2007)

12. Tilapia (June 2007, Tesco, UK)
$18 US per kg whole fish!!!!

13. Begin quality control on the farm
Reduce or eliminate use of drugs and chemicals
Consider alternatives to methyltestosterone
Use high quality feeds, proper ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fat (minimize fatty deposits)
No contaminates in feed
Maintain water quality, avoid polluted water
Control algae blooms and off-flavor

14. Depuration stage Check fish for off-flavor at the farm
Move to depuration system, good quality water, no feed, clear fish of off-flavor
Depuration system can be on-farm or at processing plant
Check for off-flavor at processing plant
Check for off-flavor at end of processing

15. Transport to processing plant
Best to transport live
May want to add salt to reduce stress and maintain quality

16. High quality fresh and frozen fillets
Hand trimming of fillets
Buyers are requesting better trim of margins of fillets for more consistent appearance

17. Many fillets are treated with carbon monoxide (CO, also called liquid smoke)
CO infuses into fillet and reacts with myoglobin
Fillet maintains fresh appearance for longer period

18. Carbon monoxide - CO Especially common at Chinese processors
Initially CO infusion in bags, then moved to cabinets, now retort vessels

19. Carbon monoxide - CO
Rapidly improving the technique, and providing safety to workers
Must be labeled as an additive in US and EU

20. Carbon monoxide
Latest variations are to introduce CO during transport to the processing plant and putting whole fish into CO pressure vessel on receiving dock

21. Demands on farmers and processors
Demand for even more food safety, high quality, “organic” or “green” tilapia products.
- Reduce or eliminate use of methyl-testosterone hormone.
- No anti-biotics or other chemicals
- Reduce environmental impacts
- More integrated, re-use water for farming crops
- Re-use processing waste products
More value-added tilapia products
More demand for all forms, especially frozen meals
Rapidly increasing demand from Europe

22. Improved quality control: Required for US, EU, and Japan markets
Samples checked for bacterial and chemical contamination
Follow HACCP procedures, ISO, and EU guidelines
Many plants are using ozone dips to reduce surface bacteria

23. Gaining NGO certifications
NaturLand
World Wildlife Fund
Aquaculture Certification Council
Each reviewing sustainability of aquaculture practices and providing a certification and marketing logo

24. Improvements in packaging

25. IQF Fillets in re-sealable packages

31. Tilapia Orange Juice

32. Global Tilapia Market Trends
Prices have been constant, only fresh fillets have increased significantly, will not see increases with inflation
$/kg

34. Upcoming supply shortage for frozen fillets???
Notes from China (CAPPMA)
100,000 metric tons of tilapia lost in first week of February 2008 due to the severe winter storms hitting Guangxi and Fujian provinces
Other industry reports put figure at 300,000 to 500,000 mt lost.
Guangdong and Hainan provinces were not hit very badly, so some reports may be exaggerated.

35. Global Aquaculture Tilapia Sales
For year 2000 =US $ 1,744, (FAO FishStat 2007)
2005 sales = $ 2,457,312,000 (FAO FishStat 2007)
2010 sales >$ 5,000,000,000

36. Future global tilapia aquaculture

37. Conclusions
Need to meet stricter food safety, quality, and environmental criteria
More demands for food safety, quality assurance, improved packaging, and environmental safeguards (with little if any increase in price)
ISO, HACCP and NGO certifications

38. Eighth International Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture October, 2008 Cairo International Conference Center