Economic feasibility of cobia juvenile production (Rachycentron canadum)

Abstract

Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) is one of the most important marine fish cultured in Brazil. This study analyzes the economic viability of the cobia juvenile production. For evaluate the cost of production, the effective operational cost (EOC), total cost operational (TCO) and the total cost of production (TCP) were considered. The indexes for the evaluation of the profitability were the Internal Return Rate (IRR), Pay Back Period (PP) and Net Present Value (NPV). Investment analysis was realized through cash flow and determination of economic viability indicators. The cash flow was determined through planeloads of investment elaborations, annual inputs and outputs for a period of ten years. The analysis showed that the decrease of the price of sale and survivor rate has a hard impact in economic viability. The land rental and labor represents the largest portion of the total cost of production (TCP). The Internal Return Rate (IRR) varied from negative to 232%, affected by the survival rates (5 to 20%) and by the three market prices (R$ 1.50; 2.00 and 2.50/unit). It can be concluded that the cobia juvenile production is economically viable when survival rate is higher at 10% and market price is higher at R$ 2.00/unit, with attractive profitability indicators compared to that of other aquaculture ventures.