Frozen Tilapia Supplier: Whole Fish, Fillets and Portions

Product overview

Tilapia ranks among the most widely farmed fish in the world, and its frozen trade splits into two markets that seldom want the same product. Whole round and gutted fish travel by the container to buyers in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, where tilapia is grilled, fried or stewed on the bone, while skinless fillets and portions fill retail freezer cabinets and foodservice menus in North America and Europe. We quote both, and each offer names the species or hybrid, the farming country, the size band and the freezing method, so that a fillet buyer and a whole-fish buyer each see the details that set their price.

Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is the dark-skinned, silver-gray fish behind most export volume. Red tilapia, a hybrid line of Oreochromis species bred for its pink-to-red skin, is farmed widely in Thailand, where it is sold as pla thap thim, and commands a premium wherever the fish is served whole at the table. Thai farms supply both types from earthen ponds and river cages; for larger fillet programs we also work with partner packers in China, Indonesia and Vietnam, which run high-volume fillet lines. The farming country is declared on each lot, and the order can specify that fish from different countries are not mixed in one lot.

Whole fish are graded by individual weight, from 100⁠–⁠200 g pan-size fish up to 800 g and above, and supplied whole round, gutted and scaled, or headed and gutted, with cross-cut steaks from the larger sizes. Fillets are cut skinless and boneless, with the pin-bone strip removed, and can be deep-skinned to take away the brownish fat layer beneath the skin when a whiter fillet is wanted. The US trade grades fillets by ounces per piece (2⁠–⁠3, 3⁠–⁠5, 5⁠–⁠7 and 7⁠–⁠9 oz), while most other markets use grams. Product is individually quick frozen (IQF), individually vacuum-packed (IVP) or frozen in interleaved blocks, and the glaze is stated as a percentage.

Tilapia fillets go into breaded and battered lines, fish tacos, steamed and baked dishes and catering menus that need a mild white fish without bones. Some fillets packed for the US market are treated with filtered wood smoke, whose carbon monoxide content holds a pink flesh color through frozen storage, but carbon monoxide treatment of fish is not permitted in the EU and several other markets, so any color treatment is specified in the order and declared on the label and the quote. Skin and scales from the same fillet lines are available as fish skin and tilapia fish scales, and buyers weighing up mild white fillets often compare tilapia with frozen pangasius.