Update on Egyptian aquaculture
value chain development
Malcolm Dickson (WorldFish Center)
CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish
Value Chain Development Team Meeting
Nairobi, 5-8 March 2012
With thanks to Stephen Hall and Graeme Macfadyen

Egyptian Aquaculture
1994 2009
• 57,000 tonnes • 705,000 tonnes
• 8.5 kg fish person-1 y-1 • 15.4 kg fish person-1 y-1
• 75% of Africa’s
aquaculture
• Employs 200,000
people
Fish is cheapest Animal Source Food for Egyptian consumers

The Aquaculture Value Chain, Egypt
Inputs : Feed, fry, capital, land, Inputs : Inputs : Transport/vehicles,
labour, fertiliser, Transport/vehicles, ice, ice, labour, buildings, power/
power/electricity, water, nets, labour, boxes, electricity, fridges, freezers,
pumps, generators, power/electricity, cookers
transport/vehicles, ice buildings
Fish Farms
• Stock in April and harvest Fish traders/ Retail Sector (and
in Sep–Dec i.e. 8-9 months
wholesalers food service sectors)
• Sell 99% of the fish • Keep fish <1 day
• Keep fish for <1 day
harvested • Sell 99% of fish purchased
• Sell 99% of fish purchased
• Average annual sales • Average annual sales
Sell / • Average sales volumes Sell /
volumes and values : 94 volumes and values of 65
deliver and values per year of deliver
tonnes and LE 890,000 tonnes and LE 940,000
to 1112 tonnes and LE 11.9 to
• All product sold live, or • Domestic sales only
fresh (w/wo ice) • Almost all product sold
million
• 8.3 full-time jobs per 100 live, or fresh (w/wo ice)
• All product sold live, or
tonnes sold but small quantities
fresh (w/wo ice)
• Av. size 265 g tilapia, 409 cooked/grilled
• 0.9 full-time jobs per 100
g • 4.6 full-time jobs per 100
tonnes sold
grey mullet, 216 g thin- tonnes sold
lipped mullet and 1481 g
catfish

Aquaculture VCA – Key Findings
• Short and simple VC – Producers, Wholesalers,
Retailers
• No processing or exports – all fish sold fresh or
live
• Little spoilage
• Employment 14 FTEs per 100 tonnes
• Evenly divided between youth and older workers
• Females mainly in retail
• Producers receive 72% final consumer price
• Production costs = $US 1300 t-1
• Feed accounts for 67% total costs
• Operational costs dominate all VC segments

IEIDEAS Project
Improving Employment and
Income through Development
of Egypt’s Aquaculture Sector
•$6 million over 3 years
•$4.3 million from SDC
•Based on VCA study
•Started December 2011

Outcomes
• Profitability improved (in existing aquaculture
areas – Kafr el Sheik, Behera, Sharkia, Fayoum
• Employment in retailing increased – esp.
women fish traders
• Increase aquaculture in El Mineya
• Efficient and sustainable VCs established
• Nutrition improved

Initial activities
• VC analysis already done
• Team building workshop
• Inception workshop (low key)
• Filling in the VC gaps – seed VC, BMP studies
• Establish committees, linkages