Brazil’s aquaculture industry produced more than 1 million metric tons (MT) of farmed fish for the first time in 2025, according to the Brazilian Association of Pisciculture (PEIXE BR).
In its 10th annual report, the association revealed that 2025 production totals represented a 4.41 percent increase on 2024 totals and a 58.6 percent jump over the past 10 years.
“This 10th edition highlights the strength and maturity of Brazilian fish farming. Despite a challenging year, we surpassed 1 million tons and achieved a decade of steady growth,” PEIXE BR President Francisco Medeiros said.
The rise has overwhelmingly been led by tilapia, which continues to dominate Brazil’s aquaculture landscape. The report showed tilapia now accounts for roughly 70 percent of national aquaculture production.
Despite hitting the 1 million-ton milestone, 2025 also featured some obstacles for Brazil’s aquaculture industry.
Tariffs implemented by the U.S. – Brazil’s main tilapia market – disrupted shipments, especially in August and September, leading to a drop in exports, according to data from the Brazil Secretariat of Foreign Trade. From January to November 2025, exports of tilapia and secondary products totaled 14,200 MT, which was down 1 percent from the 14,300 MT registered in the same period of 2024.
Still, the U.S. remained the top destination for Brazilian aquaculture exports, accounting for 87 percent of shipments and USD 52 million (EUR 45.3 million) in export revenue. Other markets included Canada and Peru, which each bought 4 percent of exports; China, which bought 2 percent; and Vietnam, which bought 1 percent.
Meanwhile, Brazil imported USD 1 billion (EUR 872 million) of aquaculture products from abroad, and much of the import bill comprised salmon, which remains Brazil’s main imported farmed fish. Salmon represented around USD 847 million (EUR 738.6 million) worth of farmed fish imports in 2025, or 83 percent of the total value.
The year also featured volatility in tilapia trade from Vietnam. Tilapia imports from the Southeast Asian country were suspended by Brazilian authorities in 2024 due to concerns about the introduction of TiLV, a pathogen associated with high mortality rates in aquaculture systems, but were reinstated in 2025. The PEIXE BR report recorded a modest resumption of imports from Vietnam last year, totaling roughly 370 tons, but near the end of the year, the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina decided to ban the sale and consumption of Vietnamese tilapia.
Beyond tilapia, the report signaled a decline in native fish production.
Native fish production fell slightly in 2025 – down 0.63 percent to 257,070 MT and continuing a three‑year pattern of decline. Among native species, tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), an Amazonian freshwater fish also known as black pacu or giant pacu, retained its position as the top native farmed fish and emerged as the sector’s second‑largest exported species. Tambaqui exports, mainly to the U.S., reached USD 961,000 (EUR 837,992) in 2025, marking a 48 percent increase from the previous year.
