40 June 2010 Tilapia marketing. Tilapia marketing. Tilapia marketing rural eatery. zinc. According to the Honduran Central Bank, the exports of tilapia grew on 30 percent from 2006 to 2007. In general, the market for fresh tilapia filets is strong in the US. However, during the last three years, frozen fillets from China have appeared in supermarkets throughout the US. These fillets are sometimes thawed and presented as fresh product at a price considerably lower than the price for fresh fillets from Honduras. Because of the short flying time to Miami, Florida (two hours), Honduras has a comparative advantage to other major tilapia producers, such as China and Taiwan, being able to transport daily by air fresh fillets to the US. Domestic and Regional Markets The export of fillets has provoked an important change in the perception of tilapia among Hondurans and Central Americans, in general. Traditionally tilapia has been perceived as a fish used primarily to assist rural families suffering from extreme poverty and poor nutrition. Since the development of exports, the fish is now very much appreciated and appears in almost every fish display case in public markets and supermarkets across the country. It is also very prominent on restaurant menus. The Honduran markets present trends similar to those in the US. This has resulted in an expansion in the number of fish farms operating in-country and an increase in the retail prices for tilapia in several forms. Generally, fish farmers are unable to satisfy the local demand for fish. Tilapia is typically processed in the round (gutted and scaled) or sold as live fish. Tilapia fillets from the commercial farms and from one local processor are also sold in supermarkets and distributed to some restaurants in Honduras. Over the past 10 years, there has been a proliferation of restaurants offering tilapia in Honduras. These range from white tablecloth restaurants, locally operated US fast-food franchises and simple roadside eateries. Some of the roadside eateries maintain live fish in tanks to assure a fresh product for their clientele. Prices for live fish range between US$1.73 to 2.30/Kg, for clean fish (in the round) from US$2.30 to 2.90/Kg and for fresh or frozen fillets US$7.00 to 9.00/kg. Prepared tilapia in restaurants are sold in Honduras at prices ranging up to US$12.00 per plate. That value usually surpasses the price for the finest marine finfish fillets on the same menu. Local demand for tilapia has stimulated greater production among small and medium-scale fish farmers in Honduras. The increased local demand has resulted from the publicity given to the export of fillets from Honduras and the availability of the product in the local markets and supermarkets. Several Honduran fish farmers are exporting their fish, fingerlings for stocking ponds and processed fish for consumption to neighboring countries in Central America. El Salvador and Guatemala are two growing markets for tilapia where prices are superior of those in Honduran markets. Mexico is a new market for fresh fillets from Honduran producers. (Continued on page 72)
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