Aquaculture in the Americas- An Overview
20 de noviembre de 2009
Canadian aquaculture production has doubled from 82,487 tonnes 10 years ago to 170,172 tonnes in 2007.
Canada
Canadian aquaculture production has doubled from 82,487 tonnes 10 years ago to 170,172 tonnes in 2007.
The corresponding value increased from CA$392 million to CA$846 million.
Production had peaked in 2002, reaching 171,803 tonnes, but fell again in the following years when the salmon production was affected by an infectious disease.
Although production rebounded after three years, it still hovers around the 2002 level (see Figure 1).
Finfish production grew at an annual average rate of 7.4 percent over the past decade and increased from 63,918 tonnes in 1997 to 129,949 tonnes in 2007.
The share of shellfish production has been smaller but it contributes significantly to the stability and diversity of the sector. Shellfish production grew at a higher rate, 8.2 percent, than finfish and more than doubled to 39,365 tonnes over the past decade.
However, its production level in 1997 was three and a half times lower than finfish, making it difficult for the industry to keep pace with the growth of finfish production. The value of the production in that period increased from CA$25,792 million to CA$70,018 million.
It is projected that with appropriate strategic action, Canadian aquaculture output could increase by approximately eight percent to more than 214,000 tonnes within five years, generating farm-gate revenues of more than CA$1.1 billion. By 2020, sector output could exceed 308,000 tonnes and generate total farm-gate revenues in excess of CA$1.5 billion (see Table 1).
Nearly 90 percent of Canada’s aquaculture products are sold in export markets in some 20 countries. The largest export market for Canada is the United States with 96 percent of sales in 2007.
Proximity to the US markets and consequent lower transportation costs influence this market concentration.
In Europe, France is a distinct destination. In Asia, Japan and Taiwan stand out among a few other countries. Total value of export was CA$570 million in 2007 (Statistics Canada, 2008). Exports of aquaculture products from Canada have been consistently greater than aquaculture imports. Imports accounted for less than four percent of total aquaculture trade.
United States
Aquaculture production is composed of food fish, ornamental fish, baitfish, molluscs, crustaceans, aquatic plants and algae, and some reptiles such as alligators and turtles.
The catfish industry is the largest sector, accounting for over 40 percent of all sales.
Catfish production in open freshwater ponds is concentrated in Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Other major food fish species are trout, salmon, tilapia, hybrid striped bass, sturgeon, walleye and yellow perch. Aside from fish, US aquaculture produces freshwater crawfish, mainly in Louisiana and shrimp in brackish ponds in South Carolina, Texas and Hawaii. The industry also farms mollusc species such as abalone, oysters, clams and mussels.
In 2008, the latest data available, US consumption of fishery products was 7.26kg (16lbs) of edible meat per person, according to the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Fisheries of the United States 2008 report. This was down 0.14kg (0.3lbs) compared with 2007.
The same report stated that consumers spent an estimated USS69.8 billion for fishery products last year, divided amongst food service (US$46.8 billion), retail sales (US$22.7 billion) and industrial fish products (US$389.4 million). The industry contributed approximately US$35 billion (value added) to the US GNP.
Commercial landings of fish to US ports were 3.76 billion kgs (8.3 billion lbs), valued at US$4.4 billion in 2008. The volume was about 11 percent less than the previous year, while the value increased five percent. Overall US aquaculture production is about US$1 billion, of which only 20 percent is marine species and the balance being freshwater species.
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Salmon
Dr Gunnar Knapp, a scientist at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, has compared US imports of farmed Atlantic salmon for 2009 and 2008, through the month of July (the most recent data available).
Dr Knapp said the cumulative US imports of Atlantic salmon for the year-todate were remarkably similar to the past four years. Thus there appears to have been relatively little change in total US Atlantic salmon imports.
There has been a significant decline in c u m u l a t i v e imports from Chile. January- July imports are down from 60,434 tonnes in 2007 to 56,984 tonnes in 2008 and just 40,990 tonnes in 2009, about a 16,000 tonnes decline from last year.
At the same time, cumulative imports from Norway are up d r ama t i c a l l y, by about 9000 tonnes over last year. Imports from the Faeroe Islands and the United Kingdom increased 4000 tonnes and 2200 tonnes, respectively.
C a n a d i a n exporters have not been able to benefit from the decline in Chilean supply, most likely due to the lack of available capacity in the Canadian Atlantic salmon farming industry. According to Dr Knapp, cumulative imports from Canada are about the same as last year for the first seven months of the year.
Based on recent wholesale price data from the Alaska Department of Revenue, Dr Knapp said the market picture is varied for Alaska wild salmon species. Compared with the period May-August 2008, in May-August 2009, frozen H&G sockeye salmon prices were higher, while they were stable for pink and chum, and sharply down for chinook and coho. Prices for fresh H&G salmon showed increase for pink salmon, stable for sockeye and chum, while down for chinook and coho.
Prices for canned pink and sockeye salmon were up and the prices for salmon roe were sharply down for all species.
Trout
The US Department of Agriculture’s Statistics Service (NASS) reports farmed trout in number of fish, not volume, and value.
The 2008 production value was about nine percent lower than the previous year, and totalled US$79.7 million. Idaho is the largest single trout producing state and accounted for 44 percent of the overall value.
The number of trout 30.5cm (12 inches) and longer sold during 2008 totaled 40.4 million fish, down 31 percent from the previous year. The value of sales for the 2008 marketing year was US$72.4 million, down nine percent from 2007.
The number of 15.2-30.5cm (six-12 inch) trout sold during 2008 totaled 4.61 million fish, a decrease of 15 percent from 2007. The total value of sales was US$5.78 million during 2008, an 11 percent decrease from the previous year.
The number of 2.54-15.2cm (one-to-six inch) trout sold during 2008 totaled 9.53 million, a six percent decrease from the previous year. The total value of sales was US$1.50 million, down 17 percent from last year's total.
Catfish
US farmed catfish processed during August 2009 totaled 18 million kg (39.5 million lbs) round weight, down four percent from August 2008, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) September 2009 report. Cumulative processed catfish (round weight) reached 145 million kg (319.5 million lbs) through August 2009; about 11 percent less than for the same period last year.
The US catfish industry has been plagued by increasing cost of production, primarily from increased feed prices. Farms have shut down with resulting job losses. It was reported that some farmers were losing 25 cents for each dollar spent raising the fish. Mississippi and Arkansas, the two largest catfish farming states, have seen their production areas shrink over the last few years. Catfish pond acreage in Mississippi was only about 28,328ha (70,000 acres) as of late July this year, compared to more than 45,730ha (113,000) acres in 2001. Arkansas’ catfish pond acreage fell to an 11-year low of only 10,117ha (25,000 acres) by the end of 2008. The declining trend is expected to continue.
Tilapia
US tilapia producers have had a hard time with the recession during the past year, according to Dr Kevin Fitzsimmons, Professor at Arizona State University.
Some long established farms in New York and California have ceased operations, as input prices rose while sales (prices and volumes) stagnated. The live sale market to Asian restaurants and stores has been soft, with fewer customers and less spending per customer. The restaurant demand for fresh fillet imports has also been soft and imports have slowed.
However, demand for frozen, value-added fillet products has increased significantly.
It appears that cash strapped US consumers have spent less in restaurants but have increased purchases of frozen fillet products in grocery stores. Many supermarkets now carry a dozen or more tilapia products and tilapia trails only salmon in grocery store sales volume.
Across Latin America additional farms have opened and production has increased. In early 2008, the drop in production from China enabled the Latin American farms to increase prices and sales volume, according to Dr Fitzsimmons.
As China came back online and the credit crises hit, many smaller farms and exporters were hurt at the end of 2008 and early 2009. Larger farms with established credit lines and long term supply contracts were not greatly affected. Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, with strong domestic markets, have done relatively well and continue to increase yield per farm and number of farms.
Technology improvements and better broodstocks have allowed farms to continue profitably even as input costs have risen faster than tilapia sales. Northern Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana are hot spots for new production.
Mexico competes with Brazil as the largest producer of tilapia in the Americas, and considering the additional imports of tilapia from China, Mexico is the second largest consumer of tilapia products after the US.
Author: Dave Conley and Tor-Eddie Fossbakk
Source: Engormix.com
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