AQUACULTURE IN BRAZIL – ANALYSIS OF THE SECTOR’S EVOLUTION BETWEEN 2013 TO 2023

Abstract

Although Brazilian agribusiness is a power in the international scene, with emphasis on grain and meat production, the performance of national aquaculture is still low, representing less than 1% of world production. However, aquaculture in Brazil has grown considerably in recent years, contributing to an increase in the supply of fish in the domestic market. Aquaculture is present in all regions of the country, producing different types of fish, shrimp and mollusks. In order to maximize Brazil's capacity for this sector, given its vast water resources, studies that map the evolution of this production as well as its potential and limitations are necessary for the future of the activity. In this sense, this work sought to analyze the changes in the country's aquaculture production in the last ten years, focusing on the evolution and geographic dispersion of this production for its three main sectors: fish farming, shrimp farming and mollusc farming. The results indicate that the considerable growth of Brazilian aquaculture has been driven by fish farming (especially tilapia) and shrimp farming, while malacoculture has shown continuous declines in its production, contributing negatively to the sector. Furthermore, the distribution of aquaculture production among the states is quite heterogeneous: while fish farming is relatively well distributed throughout the country (especially Paraná), almost all shrimp farming production is concentrated in the Northeast (especially Ceará), while Santa Catarina accounts for more than 90% of mollusc farming.