Asia

A turnaround in the country’s tilapia pricing has brought one of China’s biggest aquaculture firms to ramp up its tilapia breeding and processing capacity. Known more for its prawn production and processing, Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Co. is ramping up its tilapia seedlings business in a large new facility that has come online in Wuchuan, in the company’s home province of Guangdong. This follows a greatly improved performance by the Chinese tilapia sector in 2013.

Tilapia cultivators were losing money in 2012 as weak demand and disease contributed to a poor outlook. That in turn forced a lot of small aquaculture players to exit the tilapia sector. Interviewed by the local press this week, breeding manager at Guolian’s tilapia base in Wuchuan, Zhao Honglei explained that in 2013 prices grew solidly and demand for fingerlings increased greatly.

“A lot of cultivators exited, they gave up tilapia breeding. There was an enormous fall in tilapia output and a growing gap in supply for processors, so now we are producing tilapia again.”

Data published by the Chinese agriculture ministry shows farm gate prices for tilapia surged from CNY 4.7 (USD 0.77åç, EUR 0.56) per 500 grams (g) (for fish of .5 kilograms (kg) and heavier, a common factory grade) in mid-2013. By the end of 2013 those prices surged to CNY 5.3 (USD 0.87, EUR 0.64) and CNY 5.4 (USD 0.89, EUR 0.65) as factories struggled for a stable supply of tilapia for processing.
Local analysts watching China’s seafood sector have welcomed Guolian’s move into tilapia as a way of insulating the firm against volatility in global shrimp markets.

“The coming online of Guolian’s tilapia breeding project is a good move to spread risk,” explained Wang Fenghua, analyst at Hongyuan Securities, which [...]