46 DECEMBER 2017 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG to US$ 43,873. In addition to family enterprises, there are large tilapia cage enterprises like Santa Fé do Sul, with annual modal production of 443 t, generating annual gross income of US$ 671,142. Tilapia cage farms in MG and SP have been affected by drought over the last two years, which caused a decrease in reservoir levels, contributing to an increase in water temperature to stressful levels and leading to increased fish mortality. This has forced several farmers to relocate cages to areas with greater depth. Recently, with the return of a more normal rainfall pattern, reservoirs have recovered some water capacity, improving environmental conditions for fish farming. Production Cost Structure and Profitability in 2016 The four main items contributing to EOC in the tilapia cage farms are feed (70-85 percent), labor (6.7-12.7 percent), fingerlings (1.3-13.8 percent), and administrative expenses (0.5-9.5 percent) (Fig. 5). For farms producing tilapia in earthen ponds, the four main cost items in the EOC are less heterogeneous (Fig. 6). Feed is first (73-78 percent), followed by fingerlings (4.7-5.2 percent), energy and fuel (2-7.6 percent) and labor (2.9-6.2 percent). Figure 7 presents the revenue and structure of costs compounded by the effective operating cost (EOC), total operating cost (TOC) and sales price for all tilapia farms. All farms have a positive gross margin, that is, the gross revenue obtained from the fish sales exceeded the EOC, representing the resources disbursed by the farmer throughout the production cycle. This points to the viability of the business, at least in the short term. The net margin was positive in most farms surveyed, indicating business sustainability in the medium term. For farms with negative net margin, the whole production and marketing system must be reviewed. The best result in terms of profitability, expressed as gross margin, for tilapia cage farms was obtained in the Guapé center. This is related to the highest sales price received by farmers (US$ 2.08/kg), despite the relatively small production level. In addition to the above-average sales price, the operating cost of Guapé farms are also lower than the surveyed average, due to the lean structure of the enterprises, which only use family labor. The best net margin was obtained by farmers in Felixlândia, due mainly to the lower proportion of labor costs compared to Guapé farmers. Among tilapia farms in earthen ponds, farmers in Joinville had the best profitability indices (gross and net margins) due to strict control of production conditions, although the sales price was not more favorable to farmers there. The value of economic performance indicators of aquaculture farms varied by production system, intensity of technology used, chosen species, organization of producers, control of input usage, access to markets and technical assistance monitoring. In general, farms that promoted the best use of these items achieved better financial performance. Final Considerations In general, the structures of aquaculture enterprises in Brazil are very diverse. There is a shift in the cost balance when hired labor is employed in an enterprise with high annual gross revenue. In contrast, properties with family labor have lower annual gross revenue, but the income from aquaculture has a significant role in the farmer’s livelihood. Difficulties regarding licensing of aquaculture enterprises were reported by fish farmers in all areas. Farmers are interested in getting registered but the lack of standard processes in public institutions responsible for licensing remains persistent. This suggests the need to revise the current legislation to simplify the whole licensing process for aquaculture. FIGURE 5. The four main effective operating cost items of tilapia cage farms. FIGURE 6. The four main effective operating cost items of tilapia pond farms. FIGURE 7. The Effective Operating Cost and Total Operating Cost (US$/ kg) compared to Revenue (US$/kg) in each tilapia center. C: Cages, EP: Earthen Pond.
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