Francisco Murillo
CEO
Tropo Farms Ltd
Ghana
Francisco is CEO of Tropo Farms Ltd, the largest tilapia producer in West Africa. He began his business career as an investment officer with the Commonwealth Development Corporation (now British International Investment) followed by several senior management roles for Rainforest Aquaculture for almost ten years, while based in South Florida, USA. During this time, he held various positions including COO, CFO and CEO. Francisco also held several senior management positions with the Regal Springs Group, the world’s largest tilapia producer. His positions included COO, Chief Business Development Officer and CFO. He was also Chairman of the Board of Aquafinca St Peter’s Fish which is Regal Springs’ subsidiary in Honduras.
Over the last 25 years, Francisco has been responsible for negotiating and managing tilapia supply agreements with retailers such as Costco, Publix and Walmart, as well as foodservice chains like Darden Restaurants and Bonefish Grill. A Costa Rican civil engineer, he has a Master’s in Business Administration with a minor in Computer Information Systems.
| Speaker | State of the Industry & Challenges |
| Presentation Panelist |
Tilapia Market in the US: History and Perspective HARD TALK with Business Leaders Marketing, Branding and Sustainability: A Global Exchange |
Abstract
This presentation will share a long-term view of the tilapia market in the US, as well as short-term trends that affect supply and demand. This includes potential competition from substitute species, including the pangasius and catfish.
A significant long-term reduction in imports of frozen tilapia products from Asia, combined with harsh sanitary conditions in main tilapia production countries in Latin America have created challenging situations in the US market.
The presentation will also share publicly available information plus market intelligence to predict potential short and medium-term scenarios for tilapia consumption in the US.