Freshwater Aquarium Fish Breeding Business Plan

19.09.2021

* Calculations use average data for Russia

1.Project summary

The goal of the project is to open a farm for breeding crayfish using an intensive method in the conditions of Central Russia (Lipetsk region). The essence of the method is to create artificial reservoirs with a total area of 1000 square meters. m. Breeding of crayfish is carried out in indoor (wintering) and open ponds, where the necessary conditions for breeding are provided for crayfish. The productivity of the farm per year is up to 3 tons of ready-to-sell products. The main product of the farm is the long-clawed crayfish, the most common in these latitudes.

The financial calculations of this business plan are based on an average check of 500 rubles. Project performance indicators are given for a five-year period of work. The payback period from the start of the project (design and construction) is 41 months.

To implement the project, taking into account working capital, 6,294,000 rubles will be required. For this, it is planned to attract 3 million rubles. own funds and 3,294,000 rubles. borrowed money. The loan term is 36 months, the interest rate is 18%. Deferred payment of the first payment - 3 months.

*for 2 years of work

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2. Description of the industry and company

According to research by the marketing agency Discovery Research Group, the consumption of crustaceans in Russia is growing at a rate of 2-14% annually. The growth in demand is due to an increase in domestic production and imports. On the market, products are presented in four main types: chilled, frozen, ready-made and canned. The products of foreign manufacturers prevail (about 51%), mainly from countries such as China and Canada. About 52% of the Russian production is represented by Frozen Crustaceans. According to the results for 2014, the volume of the crustacean market decreased by 13% due to the impact of sanctions and counter-sanctions.

If we talk about freshwater crayfish, then it is difficult to determine the production volumes with accuracy. Basically, crayfish from the Rostov Region, Krasnodar Territory and Altai Territory predominate in the country. On an industrial scale, boiled-frozen crayfish is almost never produced in Russia, and production is carried out by natural fishing. Often the catch and trade of crayfish takes place outside the legal framework and without veterinary accompanying documentation, and the quality of products leaves much to be desired.

The difficulty of artificial breeding of crayfish is that it takes about 4-5 years to reach a marketable weight. At the same time, crayfish hibernate for a long time in middle latitudes. During the hibernation period, they do not feed, and the growth processes stop for 5-7 months, as a result of which the sales period is significantly postponed, and the entrepreneur who decides to breed suffers losses.

In connection with this circumstance, an intensive cultivation method was chosen for the successful implementation of the project to open a crayfish farm. This method provides for the creation of indoor reservoirs, as a result of which the production time of a commodity batch is reduced to 1.5-2 years. Cancers are sold at a high selling price of 400 rubles on average. per kg wholesale and 550 rubles. retail.

So, the goal of the project is to open a farm for intensive breeding of crayfish in the conditions of Central Russia with the aim of their subsequent wholesale and retail sales. The implementation of this business idea includes the following steps:

1. Construction of artificial reservoirs for growing crayfish with a total area of 1000 sq. meters. About 300 sq. meters of reservoirs are indoor pools, the remaining 700 are outdoor pools for growing crayfish in natural conditions.

2. Breeding of crayfish by the method of intensive cultivation, including the provision of all necessary procedures for this (water filtration, feeding, etc.).

3. Formation of a sales market for products to wholesale and retail buyers.

The production capacity of the farm will be 3 tons of crayfish per year. The cancer farm is located in a countryside area of 2000 sq. meters on the territory of the Lipetsk region, owned. The organizational legal form of this business is IP (individual entrepreneur). Since crayfish breeding in ponds falls under agricultural activity, the Unified Agricultural Tax (UAT) is chosen as a form of taxation. Notification of the transition to the ESHN is submitted within 30 days from the date of registration or until December 31 of the year preceding the transition.

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Business organization does not provide for any hierarchically complex management structure. The owner of the project and members of his family are responsible for the management and maintenance of the farm. Staff and hired personnel is not required.

3. Description of services (goods)

The main product of the farm is long-toed crayfish. The habitat of this cancer is very wide and extends from the Atlantic coast of Europe to the Urals and Siberia. Under natural conditions, the long-clawed crayfish leads a benthic lifestyle, the type of food is characterized as semi-predatory. It is characterized by unpretentiousness to the conditions of detention, oxygen regime, quickly reaches the marketable weight. The optimum temperature for growth is considered to be 22-25°C. The basis of food is plants, organic remains, fish fry, tadpoles, insects. The size of long-clawed crayfish in the first year of life is about 7-8 cm with a weight of 10-15 g, two-year-olds have a length of about 12 cm with a weight of about 70 g. Large crayfish can reach a weight of 100 g or more. In nutritional terms, the average yield of commercial-sized long-clawed crayfish meat from claws and belly is 17.5%. In terms of taste, crayfish often surpasses marine crustaceans, for example, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, lobsters. Crayfish meat contains up to 16% proteins and no more than 0.5% fat.

The average wholesale price is set at 400 rubles. per kg, retail price - 550 rubles. kg. This price category is below the average market indicators for the region, which amount to 450 rubles. for the purchase in bulk and 600 rubles. retail. In general, in the region, the price per kg of crayfish varies from 300 to 900 rubles per kg. In addition to the sale of crayfish, it is planned to organize an additional service for the delivery of crayfish. A complete list of products and services sold is presented in Table. one.

To avoid financial costs, the first crayfish for the farm are caught naturally. Crayfish are transported in small boxes 60x40x30 in size. Cancer is placed in boxes in rows (up to 5 rows) with the backs up. Each row is laid with gauze. Juveniles are transported in double-walled plastic bags with a capacity of 40 to 60 liters, which is 1/3 filled with clean water.

Table 1. List of products and services sold

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Another competitive advantage is the availability of the necessary documents confirming the quality of the products sold. This is a sanitary passport for a car for transporting crayfish (the car is owned by the project organizer), a veterinary certificate of form No. 2, certification in accordance with GOST R-50380-2005, a declaration of conformity. Due to the time and financial costs of obtaining veterinary documents, crayfish are often traded illegally by competitors. In connection with this fact, one of the methods of combating unscrupulous competitors is to call veterinary inspectors in order to destroy illegal products that can harm the health of consumers.

4.Sales and marketing

The sales market consists of wholesale buyers, which mainly include restaurants in the city of Lipetsk, located in the historical part of the city, as well as beer establishments. The clients of the former are the category of the population with a level of income above the average, the clients of the latter are a wider layer of the middle class. Depending on the size and location of the catch, prices for live crayfish in Lipetsk range from 300 to 900 rubles. per kg. In particular, residents of the city have the opportunity to purchase not only local, but also Don, Altai, Kazakhstan and Sevan crayfish. The problem is that they do not get to the table of the townspeople and residents of the region immediately, but after a rather long transportation, which cannot but affect their quality. At the same time, not all products have the appropriate quality certificates, and prices do not meet the proposed quality. The need of the residents of the city and the region for quality products that are worth their money is obvious.

Basically, crayfish are bought purposefully, since crayfish are often an indispensable attribute for beer and a cheerful company. Among the key requirements that buyers make is an acceptable low price, adequate to the size of crayfish, as well as their "freshness": preference is given to mobile and active individuals rather than slow ones. In addition, the appearance of the cancer is also important. A healthy crayfish has a uniform color, does not have spots, and the shell and claws should be free of cracks and growths.

Sales of crayfish to wholesale buyers (restaurants and cafes) occur according to the agreed conditions of volumes. Delivery to wholesale customers is free. Retail crayfish can be purchased directly from the farm using pickup or delivery.

Two main methods were chosen as methods for attracting buyers: these are direct telephone sales and posting information on the Internet. The latter, in particular, provides for the placement of free ads on specialized sites and the creation of a farm group on the Vkontakte social network.

5.Production plan

The crayfish farm is located 10 km from the city limits of Lipetsk, in the countryside. The company is in transport accessibility, there is an asphalt road nearby, which is easy to get to in any direction. The land plot is 2000 sq. meters. The surface of the site is flat, without slopes and depressions.

The production technology implies the implementation of several points. Next, we will take a closer look at each of them.

1. Catching and landing. At the initial stage, crayfish are caught in a natural reservoir in August-September (before the mating period) in the amount necessary for production. Landing in a reservoir occurs in compliance with the density of 5-6 crayfish per 1 sq. meter. One male can fertilize 4-5 females.

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2. Creation of conditions for spawning. Approximately one month after capture (in October-November), long-clawed crayfish begin spawning. During this period, the females are deposited in separate pools. This is done so that the relatives do not destroy the young. The female takes out up to 40-50 fry.

3. Care. After the second molt, juveniles are caught and transplanted into the mother pond, and small crustaceans are grown to yearlings weighing 7–10 g. One-year-old crayfish are caught and transplanted into feeding ponds, where the stocking density is less than in the previous pond. At the end of the second year of life, crayfish reach a mass of 40–50 g and a length of 9–10 cm.

3. Ensuring breeding conditions in an artificial reservoir. When breeding crayfish, water quality, oxygen levels (at least 5-7 mg / l) and hydrogen (7-9 mg / l) are monitored. In this case, the water exchange should be 50 l / min per 1000 square meters. meters of water area. Also, a natural environment is provided in the reservoir, that is, river plankton, algae, insect larvae, and so on.

4. Feeding. Cancer is considered omnivorous, so the choice of the most in favor of any particular food is not a determining factor. However, crayfish can feed on grain, wheat bran, vegetables, fish, meat, powdered milk, herbal flour, etc. The content of ingredients for different age categories of crayfish are given in Table. 2. The daily rate of issue is from 0.2% to 2% of the total mass of crayfish. For females during the spawning period, this rate increases by 0.7-1%, and then after a month it decreases to 0.3-0.7%. In winter, crayfish do not grow and do not move, so they do not need food. It is also necessary to ensure that the feed does not remain until the next feeding and does not pollute the pond. To track the amount eaten, special feeders are used.

Table 2. The composition of feed for various age categories of crayfish

For growing crayfish, you will need to equip 1000 square meters. meters of area. Of the 20 ponds, 10 are covered ponds (300 square meters), the rest are open ponds (700 square meters). Open ponds have a larger volume. Ponds are created in a strictly rectangular shape. Construction of ponds and summing up the necessary communications will cost about 3.5 million rubles. Polypropylene is used for cladding of covered ponds. The cost of equipping a crayfish farm is shown in Table. 3.

Table 3 Equipment Costs

Work to ensure the functioning of the farm is carried out by the owner of the project and members of his family. The costs of the main period include the purchase of feed, electricity costs, other expenses (fuel, veterinary).

6. Organizational plan

The preparatory period will be 3 months. Crayfish for rearing are planned to take place in August and September before the start of the mating season. As such, the crayfish farm does not have a management structure. The management and conduct of activities is carried out by the owner, who is assisted by family members. If necessary, hired workers are involved to perform one-time work.

7. Financial plan

The cost of the project, taking into account the construction of the farm, its equipment, as well as working capital, will amount to 6,294,000 rubles. The costs of the main period include: payment for electricity, purchase of feed and other consumables (hydrogen peroxide for oxidizers, transportation costs, etc.). It is planned to attract 3 million rubles for the implementation of the project. own funds and 3.29 million rubles. - borrowed money. The loan term is 36 months, the interest rate is 18%. Deferred payment of the first payment - 3 months.

The average check for farm products at retail is 550 rubles, wholesale - 400 rubles. The financial indicators of the project since the start of the farm operation - revenue, cash flow, net profit - are given in Appendix 1. The calculations are made taking into account seasonality. The cancer farm receives the main income from May to October.

8. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the project

The project to organize a crayfish breeding farm is in demand due to the need to meet the demand among the population for quality products produced in the region. Due to the duration of the cultivation of crayfish (they reach a marketable weight in 1.5-2 years), the farm will begin to bring the first profit 15 months after the start of the project. The payback period from the start of the project (construction and design) will be 41 months. The discounted payback period is 45 months. The main performance indicators of the project are given in Table. four.

Table 4. Project performance indicators

9.Risks and warranties

This project is fundamentally new for the region, and therefore there are certain risks in its implementation. The main difficulties are associated with the preparatory period and the long term for reaching production facilities associated with the slow growth process of cancer. However, risk reduction is influenced by the need of the population for these products at a price below the average with a quality above the average. Demand is highly elastic as prices fall. A description of the risks and force majeure circumstances that an enterprise may face is given in Table. 5.

Table 5. Assessment of project risks and measures to prevent their occurrence or their consequences