Tilapia market back to normal - The USA continued to dominate the world tilapia market, while the EU continued slow. The main reason for this is an early penetration of the US market, which took place several years ago, while EU was not exposed to proactive marketing of tilapia. EU importers looking for cheap whitefish alternatives began importing pangasius some five years ago, and are satisfied with the product, the price and the steady supply.

This might change if tilapia aquaculture gets into full swing in Africa. Then the EU market could be a good outlet for fresh fillets, taking advantage of its geographical position. Tilapia prices, as widely forecast, moved down in the course of 2009, as supply from China was ample. Thus prices returned to their normal level, before the 2008 supply crisis caused by a very cold winter in China.

Lower prices in US market

US imports of tilapia were more or less stable at 84 000 tonnes in the first six months of 2009. However the relative composition of product forms continued to change. Cheaper products, such as frozen fillets grew in importance, while frozen whole and fresh fillets of tilapia declined sharply. The impact of the economic crisis curtailed demand for higher priced products.

The current economic downturn has affected the US market for higher value fresh/chilled tilapia fillet as consumers switched to cheaper frozen fillets. The trend is reflected by the 12.5% drop in imports of fresh/chilled tilapia fillet during the first half of this year, amounting to 12 400 tonnes, down from 14 200 tonnes recorded during the same period of 2008, while imports of cheaper frozen fillet increased significantly by almost 16% in quantity and 32% in value during the period under review.

Honduras, one of the major suppliers of fresh/chilled tilapia fillet to the US, suffered a major setback with its exports dropping by 31.5% this year, while the other major suppliers, Ecuador and Costa Rica managed to increase their exports by 3.7% and 1.4% in quantity respectively. 

Frozen whole tilapia experienced a further drop in the first half of 2009. Only 20 000 tonnes were imported, 25% less than in the same period of 2008. China reported a 30% decline in its whole frozen tilapia exports, while frozen fillets expanded. Low labour costs enable China to produce more value added products for the US market.

Frozen tilapia fillets are now dominating the US market. In the first six months of 2009, some 51 400 tonnes were imported, 8 200 tonnes more than last year. China has thus recovered from the production cuts in 2008, and is showing strong growth. There are no indications that the positive demand for tilapia will come to an end soon. Many US investors are involved in this sector, and are producing tilapia under strict quality requirements. 

More supply and lower prices

The market reacted to the increased supply of frozen fillets from China, and prices started to move downwards in September 2008. The price of fresh fillets was stable until recently, but has started to decline in the past two months. Further price drops are likely in coming months.