Study on Economic Aspects of Tilapia Culture in Iran

The study on economic aspects of tilapia culture in Iran is a subproject of a comprehensive project on introduction of tilapia to central regions of the country. Two types of red and black of the exotic tilapia were imported from Indonesia in 2009 for research and were transferred to the research center of Bafgh. Since tilapia has capabilities in aquaculture such as resistance to diseases, fast growth, tolerance to high intensity, growth in freshwater, brackish water and in saline water, also ability to grow in pond, cage and aquaculture tanks, so it is likely that it’s production be of economic advantages. Therefore the present study looked at economic aspects of raising tilapia. The factors examined were feed expenditures, wages, fertilizer spending, costs of fish fingerlings, and pond preparation in two treatments of black and red tilapia in 0.45 hectare earth ponds, 3m2 aquaculture tanks with two replicates. Results of data analyses showed that benefit of each pond for black tilapia would be about 5968763 Rials. For red tilapia this amounted to 5939696 Rials. On total the benefit for black tilapia pond culture was 11940444 Rials while this for red tilapia was 11879392 Rials, so we can conclude that pond culture of tilapia is beneficial. Culture cost of black tilapia in tanks with 57 Kg outcome, was 2540600 Rials. Accordingly the cost of each kilogram of fish is 44572 Rials, so with 20 percent benefit, the price for each kilogram is 53485 Rials. Also for producing 37 kilograms red tilapia in tank some 2531500 Rials was expended. Each kilogram red tilapia cost 68419 Rls to produce which is much more than other cultured fish and if we expect 20 percent benefit the price of each kilogram of red tilapia would be 82103 Rls. So it is concluded that tank fish culture of tilapia would not be beneficial and economically speaking there would be no point to raise tilapia this way.

Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute

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