Aquaculture in Latin America represents a productive sector of high impact worldwide. What is the scenario?

Aquaculture in Latin America has had exponential growth in the last decades. This has contributed to the economy of Latin American countries and strengthened the continent’s food supply. The overall picture for aquaculture in Latin America is promising and with important advances.

Aquaculture figures in Latin America

Despite the dominance of aquaculture production by Asian countries, aquaculture in Latin America has progressed significantly over the last three decades. In 1994 it contributed 1.7% of global crops, while in 2017 it reached 3.7%. In terms of marine crops, Latin America contributes 14.7% of the world’s total and 1.5% of freshwater species.

In addition, Latin American aquaculture stands out for a 10.7% share in terms of value for global aquaculture.

In the region’s aquaculture production volume, Chile, Brazil, and Ecuador account for about 77% of the region; furthermore, these three countries hold 78% of the value, according to 2014 figures.

The species that have shown the greatest growth in Latin America in the last three decades are salmon, shrimp, and tilapia. Followed by other species such as carp and catfish.

Aquaculture in Latin America in 2003 generated nearly 220,000 jobs and the creation of almost 4700 companies in the region.

Chile is the largest aquaculture producer in Latin America.

Salmon is the most commercialized aquaculture production species in Chile. In fact, in 2019 it produced close to 900,000 tons, contributing 30% of the world’s salmon and being the largest producer of this species, only behind Norway. Secondly, mussels are the other species of large production in Chile, standing out worldwide only behind China.

Although domestic consumption is low, the strength of Chile’s aquaculture industry lies in exports. Exports of fishery and aquaculture products from Chile for 2020 had a value of US$ 6,174 million. This figure was 0.9% higher than the 2015-2019 average. The volume of exports reached 1.57 million tons, which represented an increase of 15% compared to 2019.

Among the main species exported from Chile, the first place corresponds to salmonids with 74.8%. Then, 12.4% corresponds to other fish.

Ecuador is an important tuna producer

Aquaculture in Ecuador contributes USD 575.8 million according to 2019 figures. In addition, it generated 0.5% of the national GDP. It is currently positioned as one of the major exporters of aquaculture products in Latin America. Ecuador stands out for its tuna production worldwide, being the second-largest producer-only after Thailand. In 2018, 593,000 tons of tuna were caught in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

In 2019, Ecuador’s total exports reached values close to USD 22,329 million. Of these, USD 308,000 million corresponded to tuna and fish, being approximately 82,000 metric tons. The main destinations for tuna produced in Ecuador were the European Union, the United States, and Colombia.

Colombia’s aquaculture production figures

According to 2020 figures, Colombia produced 179351 tons of fish and shrimp through 35,268 production units. For that year, Colombia had 16 certified processing plants. In addition, it is recognized that between 2011 and 2022 aquaculture production increased 216%, as it increased production from 82,622 to 179,351 tons of aquaculture species.

Regarding exports, Colombia shipped 17,569 tons of tilapia, trout, and shrimp worth US$92.4 million. In addition, the aquaculture sector generated 53,805 direct jobs and 161,416 indirect jobs. Finally, aquaculture in Colombia represents 0.3% of the national GDP and 3.3% of the agricultural GDP.

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Challenges of aquaculture in Latin America

Aquaculture production in Latin America faces a series of current and future challenges. The sectors dedicated to this type of animal production must solve these situations to improve their industry.

• Domestic consumption: Domestic demand does not have favorable figures to stimulate aquaculture production in the region. Most of the aquaculture production is for exports. On the other hand, these exports allow Latin America’s aquaculture industry to be modern, efficient, and able to compete globally.
• Sustainability: countries engaged in aquaculture production must implement programs to ensure the sustainability of farms and companies in the sector. For example, protocols must be established for managing chemical substances, soil and water use, disease control, and proper management of exotic species. Given that Latin American countries are developing countries, consolidating these programs for aquaculture production can bring multiple economic, productive, and environmental benefits.
• Strengthening infrastructure: Latin American aquaculture production faces the challenge of becoming more technologically advanced and consolidating itself as a world-class industry. To this aim, it is important to have the necessary infrastructure to carry out important processes in the production chain of aquaculture products. For example, infrastructure dedicated to the processing, transportation, and distribution of these products is indispensable.
• Scientific research: the contribution of science is fundamental for the progress of the Latin American aquaculture industry. The analysis of the characteristics of each country and region provides contributions to improve production, considering the unique variables of each area. Therefore, it is an added value that there is research focused on enhancing aquaculture in the Latin American context.

Aquaculture production in the world

China is currently one of the largest producers of fishery and aquaculture resources in the world. As a result, the Asian country occupies the top positions in aquaculture production.

The top five aquaculture-producing countries are China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines. All these Asian countries lead the production capacity of aquaculture resources in the world and comprise more than half of the world’s total production. More than 90% of the global aquaculture harvest belongs to the Asian continent.

According to 2018 reports, the leading exporters of aquaculture products were: China, Norway, Vietnam, India, Thailand, and Chile. On the other hand, the main importers in aquaculture were: the United States, Japan, China, Spain, and Italy.

Among the most cultivated species, in the first place, are fish, followed by mollusks, in third place, crustaceans, and in fourth place, other aquatic animal species. It is reported that aquaculture production has been increasing in the last two decades in all continents of the world.

According to 2012 figures, about 86% of aquaculture production was destined for direct human consumption. The remaining percentage went to the manufacture of non-food products such as fishmeal and fish oil.

Among the main species of aquaculture products, shrimp remains the most important in economic terms. This is followed by salmon, trout, bottom species (hake, cod), and tuna.

Finally, it has been noted that fish represents 16.7% of the animal protein consumed in the world. It is estimated that it provides a source of protein food for about 3 billion people, and this amount continues to increase.

CONCLUSIONS

Aquaculture in the world is positioned as one of the animal production sectors with the highest growth in recent years. Its contribution to the world’s food security makes aquaculture grow and become one of the most solid sectors soon.

China is currently one of the largest producers of aquaculture species in the world. The TOP 5 is completed by other Asian countries, representing more than half of the world’s production.

However, the geographical advantages of Latin American countries and the strengthening of the aquaculture industry have allowed some countries to begin to grow concerning world production.

In Latin America, the largest producer in the aquaculture sector is Chile. This is followed by Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, and Colombia. These countries have experienced favorable growth in the last decade and have a wide variety of aquaculture products. Currently, the strength of these countries is centered on exports.

Finally, it is recognized that there are challenges that aquaculture in Latin America must face to keep on growing favorably.