U.S. fresh and frozen tilapia markets struggle with supply shortages

The US may see one of the worst fresh tilapia fillet availability in years in 2023 due to fish deaths and production problems in Colombia, Honduras and Mexico, even as prices climb above the 4.50 mark dollars per pound from 3.60-3.70 dollars per pound a year ago. The combination of low supply and high prices could persist until the end of Lent 2024, jeopardizing the market share of popular fish, Tropo Farms CEO Francisco Murillo said in an analysis recently published on LinkedIn. Tropo is based in Ghana and positions itself as one of the largest producers of tilapia in sub-Saharan Africa. Columbia, the US's largest supplier of fresh tilapia fillets, was hit by a streptococcal infection in March. “In January and February, Colombia exported about 100,000 pounds a week more than a year earlier. May was £50,000 a week less than a year earlier,” Murillo told Undercurrent News. “As far as I understand, we have not yet fully felt the impact of this problem, and further potential ...