Currently, the country ranks 12th and produces 480 thousand tons of fish in captivity. The goal is to reach 2 million by 2020.
The goal of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MPA) is to raise Brazil to 5th place in the world ranking of aquaculture production.
Currently, the country ranks 12th and produces 480 thousand tons of fish in captivity. By 2020, the MPA wants to reach the level of two million tons.
The projections were detailed by the Minister of Fisheries, Helder Barbalho, during a public hearing in the Senate. The event was held with the aim of presenting the sector's actions for the coming years.
The minister stated that worldwide, the fishing industry is seven times larger than that of beef and nine times larger than that of chicken. However, in Brazil, fish accounts for only 0.1% of total animal protein exports. “Fish is a new business frontier in which the world’s largest exporter of beef and chicken needs to operate,” he stressed.
To quickly achieve this objective, one of the Ministry's first work fronts is the regularization of production in hydroelectric reservoirs, such as in Tucuruí (TO) or Itaipu (PR), he stated, but environmental licensing is an obstacle.
“The reservoir strategy is our first cut, they are the ones, with low investment and less bureaucracy, that guarantee that we can have extraordinary production,” explained Barbalho.
According to the minister, the “aquaculture consumer dream” is the production of tilapia in Itaipu. There, with only the 3% permitted for exploration in the reservoir, it is possible to almost reach the total captive production in the country.
“We are talking about Brazil producing 480 thousand tons, Itaipu alone has a production capacity of 400 thousand. If we can get the support of the states, the bureaucratic unblocking, our reservoirs alone will allow us to meet the goal of jumping from 480 thousand to two million tons”, argued Barbalho.
The minister also advocates making the pirarucu, a typical fish from the Amazon, a kind of “calling card” for Amazonian species and the country. The idea is to sell the pirarucu to the world “like a brand name.”
The president of the Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Commission (CRA), Acir Gurgacz (PDT-RO), recalled that production of the species has grown in the northern region.
In practice, the goals are not so simple to achieve, Helder stressed. The department faces bureaucratic problems with environmental licensing and planning and land regularization.
There is a fight to reduce the cost of inputs, such as feed, and to obtain tax incentives guaranteed to other production chains.
Another problem that the ministry says it is aware of is the low execution of the department's budget, which is already quite reduced. This year, if there are no contingency measures, it will be just over R$600 million.
Helder reported that the establishment of permanent management committees will assist in the Ministry's intended analysis of the sector, a diagnosis of the production chain, with characteristics of the sector in each state, dominant species, logistics and storage, and what the flaws are in these chains.
“This will allow the targeting and financing of projects, including private investment, which will be able to carry out a more precise analysis of business possibilities,” Barbalho stressed.
The minister also said that the agency will prioritize improving the lives of workers, through increased education and professional qualifications, improvements in health, safety and working conditions.
Rivers
Helder Barbalho was questioned by senators Blairo Maggi and Waldemir Moka about the lack of attention paid to capture fishing in rivers and the ocean. Despite the ministry's goal of increasing production from 765,000 tons to one million in five years, the ministry is more focused on captive production.
This growth, according to Helder Barbalho, will come from investments in the fishing fleet and the reduction of losses with improvements in storage.
“Extractive fishing does not overlap with aquaculture, they run parallel. But where we can grow substantially is in aquaculture,” said the minister.
Maggi also told the minister that it is necessary to stimulate the industry, so that there is a constant demand that provides security to the producer.
“This industrial link in the chain is what will give peace of mind and security to those who are producing in the field, knowing that when the fish are ready, they can sell it. Regardless of having to wait for Easter. Because in the beginning in Mato Grosso it was like this, you would make fish and everyone would sell it during Easter, then the price would drop a lot and bankrupt the farmers. So, we need to focus on these three things. It’s the producer, the industrial link and obviously the consumer, the trade”, highlighted the senator.
Source: Portal Brasil and Senate Agency.