Egypt is one of the largest producers of tilapia and has seen a significant growth in the live tilapia trade. A 2012 market study suggested support to the sellers of live tilapia is a priority because of the value-added this generates and the quality of the resulting product. Helping to endorse live fish marketing is another food loss and waste (FLW) control strategy.

The market for live fish is longstanding in Southeast Asia and began in the mid 1970s. The demand for LRFF is concentrated in Hong Kong and China with more than 20 countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific supplying fish to this market. Live reef food fish are a high value commodity in the under-developed and historically low-income regions from where many of these fish are sourced. Value-adding fisheries such as these can offer much needed income opportunities for the fishing communities in these regions. The adoption of new transportation and production technologies, specifically the supplanting of traditional sea with air transport, is seen as a potential way to lessen ecological impact, lower transport costs and lower mortality during distribution.