Some Notes on the Development of the Pangasius Industry in the in the Philippines

J.P. Baldia

    Pangasius sold in General Santos market

Since 2007 when Pangasius fish, better known as “Cream Dory” or simply “Dory fish” fillet was re-launched as a food fish in the Philippines from Vietnam, its importation has been increasing by leaps and bounds.  To date, it was reported that the Philippines imports some  600 to 800 MT of fish fillet of this fish equivalent to 60-80 containers per month and this volume keeps on increasing. 

This indicates the increasing acceptability of this once unknown fish to the Filipino palate.  Imported Pangasius fillet can now be found in almost all the frozen section of supermarkets in major cities in the country, in wet markets, in restaurants whether fast foods or fine dining,  in the country’s major resorts such as Boracay and Puerto Galera and even as food served by airlines to its passengers during flight.

So what brings about the sudden popularity of this fish?   First, chefs and housewives claim that the fish is cheap.  It is even cheaper than Tilapia and galunggong.  A kilo of Pangasius all meat-fillet wholesales at around Php150. and are sold at Php 180-200. /kg in the retail market.  Second, its price is stable because it is not affected by the supply and demand as most fish do.  In fact, its price is even decreasing due to competition among importers.  Third, it is very convenient to prepare.  No cleaning is needed and all one has to do is thaw it from the freezer. And fourth, it can be cooked in a variety of ways suitable to the Filipino taste buds.

Sadly, such picture is not as optimistic with regards to the locally cultured Pangasius industry. Some fish farmers who were once enthusiastic to culture the fish have lost interest due to lack of market for their produce.  A company who offers contract growing to farmers has significantly reduced their buying price to around Php 40./kg  and the volume they buy from their contract growers.  The reason is- it is cheaper to import the fillet than produce them.  Another fish feed company, who was a pioneer in the grow-out culture of Pangasius and who also operates a fish processing plant based in Bulacan has stopped culturing and processing them for the same reason.

In an effort to popularize Pangasius in their region, The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Regional Office (BFAR-RO2) set-up the “Pangasius Cage-Pond Culture Verification Trials” in the provinces of Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela in 2008. The project was apparently successful in terms of proving that it grows well in their region.  One aspect that was not explored in the project is the market for their produce.  There was no wholesale buyer.  Instead, harvests from the demonstration project were sold in retail to the end consumers.  According to the BFAR Region2 Project Leader, Mr. Domingo Abalos, their produce were sold directly to consumers at the farm at Php90-100./kg.  The volume purchased however was only about 1-2 kilos per customer. 

After the project terminated, some of the cooperators in the project continued raising Pangasius but this time, the fish reached 3 kilos in weight for lack of ready buyers.  The big fishes are cleaned and cut by some ambulant vendors in the market.  The meaty parts were sold at Php120./kg while the head and tail parts were sold at about Php 100./kg.

Unlike other fishes where its price is dictated by the market forces (supply and demand), the price of Pangasius at present is determined by the grower/producer.  This is due to the absence of wholesale buyers leaving no options to the grower to sell them in retail and pose it as an exotic fish.   

Commercial fish production will not succeed unless wholesale buyers are available.  When fish are not harvested fully or for at least in batches within a short period of time, the leftover fish in the pond are continuously fed and results to losses to the farmer.  In the case of Pangasius, partial harvesting also causes stress to the remaining fish in the pond or cage resulting for the fish to refuse to eat for about a week therefore causing a significant reduction in their weight. 

The high selling price of Pangasius in Region 2 can be attributed to the fact that it is a land-locked area and very far from marine fish sources.  It was only recently when freshwater aquaculture was introduced in the region did people get a regular fish supply on their table.  Despite these, farm inputs like feeds and other supplies also comes from far sources like Manila, Bulacan and Pampanga.  Otherwise, fresh or marine fishes still comes from the fish ports in Manila or Pangasinan, a six to ten hours drive making its retail price exorbitant.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region 12 (BFAR 12) together with the Department of Trade and Industry Region 12- Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency and Employment Program (DTI -CLEEP) and RDEX Food International Philippines, Inc.    spearheaded the Pangasius Techno-Demo Project in Region 12 from May- December 2009.  Again, the project was deemed successful in demonstrating to fish farmers the technical feasibility of growing Pangasius in the region and realize its many advantages as compared to growing other freshwater fish such as tilapia and hito.    Pangasius can be stocked at very high rates of 50/m³ and still manage to grow unlike tilapia whose maximum stocking rate in unaerated ponds is only 5/m³.  It can grow to 1-1.5 kg in 6 months as compared to tilapia that can achieve only 300-350g for the same period of time.  To date, there is no known disease that affects Pangasius that can wipe out the entire stock unlike hito which are often infected with the Epizootic Ulcerative Disease Syndrome (EUS).  Up to now, an effective treatment for this disease has yet to be developed.

A commendation for this project is the inclusion of a ready buyer for their produce.  RDEX Food Group, a fish processing company bought all the Pangasius harvested from the project at Php 60./kg for fish that are 500-999g and at Php 70./kg for I kg and above for processing.  Unfortunately,  RDEX stopped buying Pangasius from fish farmers when the project finished.  According to Francis Suganob , RDEX operations manager for sea cages/ponds operations,   the buying price set for the project was high and caused them to lose money.  Nevertheless, RDEX continues to culture Pangasius in their ponds in Polomoloc, General Santos and cages in Lake Sebu.

BFAR in a paper “Status of the Pangasius industry in the Philippines” (Unpublished) reported some 9 Pangasius  hatcheries /nurseries operating in the country. In truth, there are only three Pangasius hatcheries that are reliably producing fingerlings in commercial quantities.  These are Bluebay Aquaculture in Munoz, Nueva Ecija, A&L Hatchery in Apalit, Pampanga and St. Martha’s Farm in Teresa, Rizal. 

In Pangasius breeding,   the exact proper timing of operations during the induced spawning of Pangasius, such as time of injection, stripping and proper incubation of eggs are very critical unlike in African catfish breeding. Mistakes in the proper assessment of breeders maturity after injection and latency period always results to the death of the breeder.   Many of those who have tried to spawn Pangasius and have succeeded are also finding it very difficult to rear them to fingerling stage.  Pangasius spawns practically in millions and if these are just nursed in ponds to grow them to fingerlings, then the operators are always surprised to harvest only less than a hundred pieces or none at all.

To prove this point, a Pangasius hatchery had a press release in a major newspaper claiming a breakthrough in Pangasius spawning of around 1.3 million fry only to harvest 130 pcs of fingerlings after more than a month of nursery rearing. 

Despite these situations, there are still some growers who remain optimistic on growing  Pangasius since they find it more hardy and easier to culture as compared to other freshwater fishes.  After all, where can you find a fish that can be stocked at an unbelievable high rate of 50/m^­­3 without aeration?  They reason out that the fish is still new in the Philippines and will eventually find its market niche.