MILKFISH

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Milkfish is an important commodity in the Philippines. Its production has considerably increased by 46.43% over the past 5 years. The milkfish industry however, is still confronted with problems such as inadequate fry supply, high cost of farm inputs, lack of technology for value-added, lack of manpower to effectively transfer technology, and multi-layered marketing system. Considering the high demand for milkfish, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources implements programs that will increase milkfish production, sustain milkfish fry requirements, generate livelihood opportunities, provide alternate markets for milkfish fry requirements, generate livelihood opportunities, provide alternate markets for milkfish and improve quality of processed products. The programs include the establishment of milkfish hatcheries and processing plants, and creation of market for low quality milkfish as fish bait. "Road maps" are also being developed to determine, among others, areas with low and high supply of milkfish. Regions with surplus production can supply these with scarce milkfish supply.

II. OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY

Milkfish (Chanos chanos, Forskal) belongs to the Chanidae family which is nearly related to tuna and salmon because of its fusiform shape and migratory nature. It is widely distributed in the Indo-pacific region and abundantly collected in the South and Southeast Asian, and West Pacific Regions. Milkfish is popularly cultured in the Philippines because it is a better food-converter species. It is cultured in brackishwater ponds, pens and cages. In terms of fry supply, fish farmers are entirely dependent on fry collected along the coastlines during breeding season. However, the problem of unstable natural fry supplies due to changes in environmental conditions, fluctuation in natural recruitment and coastal pollution hinders the expansion of the milkfish industry.

A.	Production Trend	Figure 1. Milkfish production data, 1997-2002 (BAS, 2002)
	Milkfish production has considerably increased for the past 5 years (see Fig 1). An estimated 46.43% growth has been achieved from 1997 to 2002. In 2002, milkfish production recorded a moderate increase of 2.52% as compared with 2001. Harvests from both marine and freshwaters, pens and cages contributed significantly to the increase in production. Harvests from the brackishwater fishponds suffered a setback of 4.39% due to intense heat and high water salinity, causing stunted growth and high species mortality.

B.	Supply and Demand		C. Distribution Map
	Table 1 shows that there is surplus in milkfish production in Regions I, III, VI, IX and XII and deficit in Regions II, IV, V, VII, VIII, X, XI, XII, ARMM and CARAGA.		Figure 2. Milkfish Distribution Map
	Region Production (mt) Requirement (mt) GAP CAR       I 36,392 12,013 24,379 II 368 8,046 (7,678) III 66,102 22,969 43,133 IV 25,947 62,137 (36,190) V 1,614 13,370 (11,756) VI 53,841 17,757 36,084 VII 7,166 16,305 (9,139) VII 2,077 10,326 (8,249) IX 9,357 8,841 516 X 5,578 7,858 (2,280) XI 9,498 14,841 (5,343) XII 9,902 7,431 2,471 ARMM 2,144 6,899 (4,755) CARAGA 2,204 5,993 (3,789) TOTAL 232,190 214,785 17,405 Table 1. Supply/production and demand analysis per region for Tilapia (@ 1.5 kcy) (2002)

D.	Supply Chain	Figure 3. Supply chain of milkfish
	Producers usually sell the milkfish to a "consignacion" or broker with a 5% margin inclusive of the mark-up and marketing costs. In turn, the broker sells to wholesalers at a margin of 10%. Wholesalers distribute to "viajeros", and the "viajeros" to the retailers in the wet markets. Both the wholesalers and "viajeros" get 15% margin.	P50.00 + 5%   P52.50 +10%   P57.75 +15%   P66.41 +15%   P76.37
III.	PROBLEMS AND CONSTRAINTS The problems and constraints with the milkfish industry consists of the following: Degradation of quality fingerling stocks due to inbreeding; Insufficient supply of quality bangus fry in far flung areas; High cost of farm inputs and poor quality feeds; Lack of manpower to effectively transfer technology to the municipal level; Marketing layers which stand between producer and consumer; and Lost opportunities to participate in global market for value-added products.

IV. STRATEGIES AND INTERVENTIONS

CENTRAL & SATELLITE BANGUS HATCHERIES
Central Hatcheries NIFTDC. Bonuan, Pangasinan Calape, Bohol Gulan, Samar (proposed) Satellite Hatcheries Existing UNP Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur Bolinao, Pangasinan Sindangan, Zambo. del Norte Lucap, Alaminos Sta. Ana, Cagayan Tiwi, Albay Proposed Pan-ay, Capiz Argao, Cebu Bais City, Negros Oriental Dumangas, Iloilo San Jose, Occidental Mindoro Claveria, Cagayan San Felipe, Zambales	Figure 4. Existing and proposed Central and Satellite Bangus Hatcheries

Commodity RoadMaps
	Milkfish
	Seaweeds
	Tilapia