During the opening of the Aquishow Brasil 2026in Uberlândia, in the Triângulo Mineiro, this Tuesday (9), the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Rivetla Edipo Araújoannounced the launch of National Aquaculture Sustainable Development Plan. The initiative seeks to structure, organize and modernize the sector’s production chain across the country.
In his speech, the minister highlighted the importance of competitiveness, innovation and technical assistance to expand national production. According to him, investing in education and qualifications is essential for the sustainable growth of the activity.
The ceremony was also marked by demands from the productive sector. The president of the Peixe SP Council, Hemerson Esteves, asked the federal government to pay attention to Vietnam, which, according to producers, reach the Brazilian market with prices lower than those practiced in the country.
In an interview with Itatiaiathe minister stated that a committee is already discussing the issue and highlighted measures adopted by the government, including tightening the rules for importing fish. “The ministry is on the side of Brazilian products and Brazilian producers. Therefore, the committee remains open to dialogue on this issue”, he stated.
Tilapia Invasion of Vietnam
And the theme “Invasive tilapia from Vietnam and commercial and health problems” dominated the discussions at the opening of the fair. The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Rivetla Edipo Araújo, commented on the tightening of regulations in Minas Gerais and São Paulo for foreign tilapia.
“I observed, I saw that the state of Minas Gerais, the state of Pernambuco, more recently also, published ordinances regarding the import and commercialization of tilapia fish from Vietnam. We, as the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, have been observing this closely and seeing how the arrival of tilapia from Vietnam has really impacted the domestic market and, obviously, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture defends the Brazilian tilapia sector.”
Marilza Patrício, executive secretary of Peixe SP, responsible for organizing the Aquishow Brasil 2026reinforces that governments need to help Brazilian producers.
“The Brazilian state, it needed to observe a little more that it is maintained by those who produce? Brazil, the Brazilian state, public servants, the Judiciary, because the state has no revenue, it does not generate revenue, it only receives”.
Bruno Machado, executive director of Peixe MG, recognizes that the hardening measures for tilapia from abroad have commercial roots, but the issue of health risk, according to him, is real.
“Fatally, our global market saying that it has no commercial bias is a widespread lie. Countries around the world work as commercial borders, often disguised as sanitary ones. But there will always be a commercial issue, especially because when a product with zero taxes enters, as it was entering Minas Gerais, it competes unfairly with our producers. But the sanitary issue is a real issue. Vietnam and several countries in that part of Asia have a disease that we don’t have here yet, which is TiLV [vírus da tilápia do lago] among others. This is a viral one. There are some bacteria that are not found in Minas. But the fillet arrives frozen, it is processed. There is no way this can go into the natural environment and contaminate it. So much so that one of the most classic examples of swine diseases came through hamburgers.”
A Aquishow Brasil 2026considered the biggest national aquaculture event, started this Tuesday (9) and continues until Thursday (11), bringing together producers, researchers, companies and sector representatives.
