Pet Brazil Project participants benefit from faster processing of fish exports

Brazilian airports receiving large volumes of fish for export are turning these round faster thanks to an initiative developed by the Ministry of Fishery and Aquaculture (MPA). The aquaculture engineer in charge, Felipe Weber Mendonça Santos, explained that with this change, the average waiting time of live cargoes in airports fell from 20 to four hours. The faster turnaround benefits ornamental fish exporters of the Pet Brazil Project, which promotes the exports of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brazil) in partnership with the Brazilian Association of the Industry of Products for Pets (Abinpet). Brazil currently has 725 species released for marketing and ranks among the main countries with a high variety of species intended for ornamental and aquarium purposes alongside China, Germany, Singapore and the USA. In 2013 alone, the country exported around $ 10.5 mio FOB (Free on Board) in ornamental fish. Of this amount, Pará State accounted for over $ 8.2 mio FOB. The species most highly prized among aquarists, such as stingrays (Potamotrygon sp.) from the Amazon, are endemic to Brazil.