Cost analysis of octopus ongrowing installation in Galicia [Spain]

Abstract

Recent years have seen the opening of several octopus fattening installations in Galicia with varying results, although such installations, in principle, do show promise. The technology for rearing octopus is scant since the full biological cycle cannot as yet be reproduced in captivity and the production system is based on capturing juveniles in the wild, containing them in different types of cage and feeding them with trawled species of little commercial value. Given the present state of our knowledge, then, it is particularly interesting to carry out economic studies that look at the viability of such fattening installations from a cost analysis point of view, both to evaluate the present system and to look at possible future alternatives. To do this we have defined a model installation based on the installations operating in Galicia and using the same techniques and methods. The minimum size of the installation is established as 43 cages with an annual production of 38,728 kg, a minimum selling price of 5.80 Euros kg-1, a maximum buying price of juveniles of 4.58 Euros kg-1, maximum price of buying feed of 0.155 Euros, a benefit/cost index of 4.11% and benefit/investment index of 1.81%. The cost analysis indicates that, in the present circumstances, this is a business involving low profits and high risk, not only because the variable costs are high, but also because the margins of the parameters analysed are very narrow and the benefits closely depend on variations in costs.