November 7, 2007

Latin America undergoing aquaculture boom

Latin America's aquaculture boomed in terms of salmon and tilapia export to the US and fishmeal to China, according to a report by Glitnir, the leading supplier of financial services to the seafood industry.

Glitnir focused on the trends and development in the seafood sector across the continent, particularly in  Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru.

Chile and Peru contribute half of the world's total fishmeal production. Chile is the world's second largest producer of farmed salmon, next to Norway. It is still the leading aquaculture country with 698,000 tonnes production valued at US$3.1 billion in 2005. In five years time, it has achieved growth of 78 percent. Peru is the world's largest producer of fishmeal.

Latin America supplies 99 percent of fresh tilapia fillets to the US. Honduras, Ecuador and El Salvador strengthened their tilapia exports to the US market. Although Mexico and Brazil are the top tilapia producers, with 100,000 tonnes  each in 2006, their harvests are for domestic use.

Aquaculture is a promising industry across the continent as worldwide demand is expected to rise by 8 percent annually, the report said.