Market prospects of farmed Asian seabass Lates calcarifer (Bloch)

Abstract

Asian seabass (barramundi) is one of the ideal species for diversification of Indian brackishwater aquaculture sector which has a good domestic market potential in India. The financial profitability of seabass farming works out to 29.18% of Return on Investment (ROI). On comparison with tiger shrimp in a planning horizon of 10 years, with inclusion of 0.49 estimated probability of risk of crop failures for shrimp, yielded Internal Rate of Return (IRR) values of 29.18% and 23.72% for seabass and shrimp respectively. Interestingly if a 10 % increase in revenue (either by increase of output quantum/price) or a 10 % decrease in costs would make both seabass and shrimp culture to return IRR values over 40%. In addition to this long term financial soundness, eco-biological and other risks associated with seabass farming are less compared to shrimp farming. Efforts on marketing of live seabass in domestic as well as middle and south-east Asian countries markets as well as on export of frozen seabass and fillets to northern European countries could help seabass farmers. Asian seabass culture could help in ensuring livelihood security to the coastal poor and nutritional security to Indian public and export earnings to the country.