The price of fish in the capital of tilapia in China rises, but farmers reduce their income.

China News Service, Maoming, October 6 (Liang Sheng and Liang Yuandong)-recently, the purchase price of tilapia in Maoming, Guangdong Province, the capital of tilapia in China, has continued to rise, with the price per kilogram as high as 10.8 yuan (RMB, the same below), close to the all-time high of 11 yuan. Over the past few days, reporters have learned in local interviews that because the profit of tilapia farming is low, the income of farmers is lower than in previous years.

Li Ruiwei, director of Maonan Sangao Tilapia Farm, said in an interview on the 6th that since July this year, the prices of raw materials such as rapeseed meal have risen sharply, and the price of aquatic feed has also risen across the board. At present, for full-feed tilapia farmers, the feed cost per kilogram of tilapia alone is more than 9 yuan, plus farm rent, water and electricity, labor and other costs, the actual profit is not much.

Maoming, known as the "capital of tilapia in China", has been committed to the construction of tilapia production, processing and export base for more than 10 years. The city's tilapia culture area is 220000 mu, with an annual output of more than 180000 tons and an output value of 1.6 billion yuan, accounting for about 1 per cent of Guangdong tilapia production. It is the largest tilapia culture base in China.

Data from the Maoming Municipal Bureau of Ocean and Fisheries show that at present, there are more than 15500 tilapia farmers in the city, including more than 20 large farmers with more than 1000 mu, and more than 100000 jobs have been created in tilapia and its related industries. among them, tens of thousands of people are engaged in the transportation and sale of tilapia, with a per capita annual income of more than 20, 000 yuan.

According to Pan Jigui, general manager of Gaozhou Pan's Agricultural Science and Technology Development Company, the highest purchase price of tilapia this year was 10.8 yuan per kilogram in late August.

Chen Biao, who has 10 years of tilapia farming experience, said tilapia culture "does not maintain its value." A few years ago, he farmed tilapia in Maonan, Huazhou, Gaozhou and other places and made huge profits. The temperature is on the high side this year, the new seedlings put in the farm continue to get sick and die, and the dead fish are basically about half a jin, resulting in great losses.

Now, under the stimulation of high prices, farmers have a higher enthusiasm for fish production, and the stock of ponds will be further reduced, while new fish are not yet on the market so quickly, and there will be a slight increase in the future when the market demand is relatively strong.