Farmed tilapia. (Photo: Luis Eustaquio)

Tilapia scales and skin, potential exporting products

MEXICO
Monday, October 15, 2012, 03:30 (GMT + 9)

The Tilapia Product System Committee in Hidalgo is planning to develop new tilapia by-product processing and marketing channels in order to start exporting it.

At present 85 per cent of the resource is used and the idea is to extend the benefits of the meat and by-products with commercial value, reported La Crónica de Hidalgo.

The production of articles made of tilapia skin and scales is in great demand abroad, and that is the market expected to be reached by the cooperative Pesca Milagrosa of Hidalgo, located in Tasquillo.

This cooperative is part of the Tilapia Production System Committee, recalled Francisco Macal, the Committee manager.

Meanwhile, the president of the Cooperative Pesca Milagrosa, Griselda Olguin, said 10 workers had been trained for a year to make handicrafts and items with tilapia skin and fish scales.

In the factory, 200 pairs of earrings were made and they were sold in Mexico City, in the towns Tasquillo and surrounding municipalities, such as Tecozautla, Ixmiquilpan and Zimapán.

Currently, the production is undergoing the craft stage and 500 skins are produced monthly, of which 25 per cent are local and the rest from other states in Mexico.

Cooperative members aim to increase sales in the domestic and international markets, as virtually "any item can be manufactured with tilapia applications," he added.

Macal said that the specific expectations are setting up two workshops, one for leather objects, which has 50 item designs, and a second one for tilapia skin tanning.

In the tanning workshop tilapia skin from Hidalgo and from other entities will be used.

"The idea is to set up well-equipped workshops, because presently we would not be able to deal with European customers, who have already told us that they are interested in the product, but their needs can not be met, since the workshop we have is basically artisanal," Macal continued explaining.

The Fisheries deputy delegate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa), Jorge Valdivieso Rodriguez, clarified that in Hidalgo tilapia is the second most important species in terms of production, with more than 2,700 tonnes annually.

Sagarpa spokespeople added that today that the specimens are grown extensively in five state assemblies, where 15 member organizations operate with more than 500 fishermen. More than 70 per cent of the tilapia produced in Hidalgo comes from there, Milenio reported.

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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