According to a Rabobank report Brazil has the potential to become an “aquaculture powerhouse”, however the Latin American country must first overcome some obstacles.
Rabobank analyst, Guilherme Melo said that Brazil’s intrinsic natural resources make it a potential aquaculture powerhouse.
“Its exclusive economic zone (EEZ)-sovereign territorial waters-is one of the twelfth largest areas of water in the world, measuring 3.5 million km2. It also has a coastline that stretches for 8,500 kilometres bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Indeed, its long coastline and fresh waters stretch across a diverse range of tropical and subtropical climates that are ideal for aquaculture similar to that of South east Asia and China, which currently account for over 80 percent of the global production. Brazil also possesses 12 percent of the planet’s available freshwater reserves, with over 5.5 million hectares of federal controlled land,” Melo said
“Moreover, Brazil’s vast grain production, along with its large potential for further growth, provide the country with an advantage in production of species that consume a vegetarian diet, as feed costs make up around 60% of the total cost of fish production. A feed cost advantage was also a substantial factor behind the growth of the poultry and pork industry in Brazil, which are now the second and fourth largest in the world, respectively,” he added.
Although Brazil has enormous potential to become a prominent aquaculture player, growth is still ‘crawling’. In 2010, its total seafood production amounted to only 1.26 million tonnes, of which, 70% came from maritime and continental capture with only 479 thousand tonnes originating from aquaculture. Although aquaculture production remains low, it has grown rapidly in recent years in the wake of the uncertainty about quality and quantity of the final product obtained through wild capture.
The report identified a number of obstacles:
Despite the challenges to be overcome, Rabobank believes the outlook for the seafood sector in Brazil is quite bright. Apart from having all the ingredients necessary to increase supply, the growing domestic consumption together with opportunities in the export side will contribute to put the country on the radar of the leaders in the global seafood companies, and may also entice Brazilian meat giants to venture into the aquaculture space.
Source: Rabobank