U.S. imports of fresh tilapia decline month by month, supply shortage may not be alleviated

Published 2024년 4월 9일

Tridge summary

The US market is experiencing a significant decline in the supply of fresh tilapia fillets, primarily due to production challenges in major exporting countries such as Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, and Costa Rica. A notable fish mortality event in Colombia, caused by the El Niño phenomenon, has drastically reduced tilapia production, leading to a decrease in exports. Additionally, Regal Springs, a significant industry player with facilities in Honduras and Mexico, is encountering production difficulties. While Brazil has increased its tilapia exports to the US, the overall shortage is expected to persist into 2024, causing prices for fresh tilapia fillets in the US to rise.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Francisco Murillo, former executive of well-known tilapia producer Regal Springs and current CEO of Ghanaian company Tropo Farm, said: "The decline in February is equivalent to a weekly reduction of nearly 311,000 pounds of fish fillets, which is a staggering number considering that it is the month before Lent." US chilled tilapia fillets come from Latin America. Colombia's exports to the United States in February were 810 tons, down 31% from the previous month and 16% from the same period last year. Murillo said that at the beginning of this year, a major death incident occurred in Colombia's aquaculture industry, and the aquaculture industry in the Betania Reservoir area was severely damaged. The area is a key production area for Colombia's exports to the US market. At present, the number of live fish in Colombian ponds has dropped significantly, and some Some producers chose to collect fish early, so exports to the United States were higher in January (although lower than the ...

Source: Foodmate