This study investigates the fish farming system in Egypt, a critical food source, particularly given the steady and limited fish catches. The research aims to understand the rising prices of farmed fish species such as tilapia, mullet, and tobar, potentially due to production or marketing issues. The trend equation indicates an annual increase of approximately 0.12 thousand tons in domestic fish production. Concurrently, the fish food gap has been reducing by about 0.033 thousand tons annually. The quantity of Egyptian fish exports has seen an annual increase of about 0.21 thousand tons during the period 2006-2021. The total production costs of tilapia were found to be about 100.2 thousand pounds per feddan, with feed (75.8%), rent (9.4%), transportation (3.4%), and labor (3.7%) being the major cost components. The study reveals that there is only one marketing channel for tilapia, i.e., the wholesaler. It was observed that the net return was highest for mullet fish, and the retailer consistently achieves the highest net return. The marketing efficiency for tilapia, mullet, and tobar was found to be 89.2%, 88.4%, and 89.5%, respectively.

The study concludes with several recommendations to improve the current state of fish farming and counteract the rise in feed prices. These include encouraging investment in fish farming, regulating the internal conditions of fish farms under government control to ensure the production of healthy fish, and establishing wholesale markets for distributing all types of fish with control over wholesalers and retailers.

Key Words: Production Costs, Marketing Channels, Net Return, Marketing Efficiency.