Analysis of Production Capacity, Profitability, and Constraints in The South African Aquaculture Industry: Case of Gauteng Province Food Fish Aquaculture

Abstract

Gauteng province’s aquaculture was grossly underdeveloped and very little was known about its profitability and the possible constraints faced by its operators. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the production capacity, and profitability of existing aquaculture projects and to identify the constraints responsible for the underdevelopment of the industry in the province. To achieve these, data was collected from five fish farms located in the province using structured questionnaires and interviews. Gross margin analysis and gross profit margin ratio were used to determine the profitability of aquaculture production. The fish farmers in the study used 36% of the capacities of the established aquaculture projects leading to lower tonnage of fish per cycle of production in all the farms. This is an indication of the underutilization of the production capacities of the established fish farms. The profit margins were greater than 40% in all the projects surveyed, proof that aquaculture has good potential as a business enterprise in the province. However, the study identified several constraints which include lack of skilled workforce, poor access to funding, and lack of established input suppliers within the province as being responsible for the underdevelopment of the sector.