The United States Soybean Export Council (USSEC) has long been a supporter of a growing, sustainable, feed-based aquaculture industry. Tilapia is a key production species globally, with over 7MMT of production, and Asia overall is the primary producer. USSEC has been an active participant in the further development of the tilapia sector, particularly in Southeast Asia, working to improve the industry directly through technical servicing, better feeds using sustainable US Soy products, and to help develop national tilapia associations. As the next step, USSEC (in conjunction with national tilapia associations and stakeholders) believes that a regional tilapia association may help to further advance the tilapia industry, by creating a “pre-competitive” organization that can seek to address key issues in the regional tilapia industry to improve production, efficiency, volumes, markets, and profitability – while still producing responsibly.

This side event is following a recent Southeast Asia (Regional) Tilapia Association (SEATA) Roundtable that was held in Singapore in October with representatives from Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam (as the primary tilapia producers in Southeast Asia) to discuss the possible formation of an regional association that would serve as a platform for producers, policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders across the region to exchange information, innovations, and best practices and help to accelerate technological adoption and problem-solving in tilapia aquaculture in a pre-competitive manner.

Participants at Tilapia 2025 have already had a long first day, what benefit might be derived from attending this side event? We hope to formally introduce the SEATA concept to the tilapia industry, and to seek public comment and input to its eventual foundation. To date there have not been any regional or international tilapia industry groups, so SEATA may be a “first model” for the further development of these types of associations in future to keep growing the market and competitiveness for this excellent aquaculture species and seafood. Tilapia 2025 participants (both from the Southeast Asian region and globally) are encouraged to attend and provide their input!