Taiwan's tilapia farmers turn to fillets amid competition

Tilapia aquaculture farmers in Taiwan were urged Sunday (Jun 6) to shift to production of higher added-value fish fillets to skirt fierce competition from their Chinese rivals.

The Fisheries Agency under the Council of Agriculture has called for Taiwan tilapia farms to increase exports of fish fillets, which are higher priced, instead of producing whole fish, which face cutthroat competition from China.

China's mass production and low price strategy have caused the price of whole tilapia to plummet since early this year. It fell to TWD33 (US$1.03) per kilogramme at its lowest point from TWD45 (US$1.38) two years ago, according to the agency.

The pricing problem prompted the Fisheries Agency to put forth a subsidy plan in May to encourage local tilapia farms to cooperate with seafood processing factories to increase their export of skinless, boneless tilapia fillets, which can be sold for US$6.50 per kg on an FOB basis.

Under the incentive programme, fish farmers are given TWD5 (US$0.15) per kg in subsidies for their production and export inspection fees, the agency said.

Because of its large size, rapid growth and palatability, Taiwan's tilapia has become the most important fish in the country's aquaculture sector, with annual exports of whole fish and fish fillets reaching between 30,000 and 40,000 tonnes and some 4,000 tonnes, respectively.

The annual global output of tilapia is roughly 2.7 million tonnes, of which about 1.1 million tonnes come from China.