THE Mindanao Business Council (MinBC) is urging local fish growers in Mindanao to boost the propagation of pangasius (catfish species from Vietnam) to establish more production.

Vicente Lao, MinBC chair, told reporters Tuesday that Mindanao is importing 50 containers, equivalent to about 20 tons of pangasius fillet from Vietnam every month. He said Mindanao has a great potential if pangasius propagation is intensified.

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"Even the regional office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is actively pursuing it. We have big bodies of freshwater here which we can use to propagate the species," Lao said.

As to the issue of bringing down the cost of production such as feeds, Lao said it is not necessary to feed the fish with 100 percent pure commercial feeds.

To minimize the cost of production, since the prices of feeds are quite high for farmers at P30 per kilo, he said growers can use 60 percent of the commercial feeds and 40 percent of rice field snail, locally known as "kuhol" (cooked and crushed) as an alternative.

"Rice field snails are high in protein. It is also not necessary for growers to feed the fish with commercial feeds or rice field snails. Pangasius eats everything. As it grows, it loses its teeth so it becomes omnivorous," Lao said.

Lao added that MinBC sees the bright potential of pangasius, including it to the list of investment opportunities in Mindanao during the Mindanao Investment Conference held in the city last year.

He said the promotion of pangasius by both private and government sectors will not actually take over the market of other existing aquaculture species such as tilapia, hito, and bangus.

"We've been managing this (Pangasius) very carefully and we are bringing everybody, the companies which will be part of the supply chain," Lao said, adding that RD Fishing, Vitarich Corporation, and other huge companies are also selling pangasius fingerlings to boost its production.