The ‘foreign fish’ that is winning over Portuguese tables
This article is about a fish. But also about immigration and new consumer habits. Tilapia reached the big supermarket chains in 2025 and its imports have already overtaken the whole of 2024. Find out why.
The first time I came across tilapia was at the fish counter of the Carrefour in Santos, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, in February. A kilo of fillets cost around 60 reais, roughly ten euros at the exchange rate at the time. Much loved in Brazil, this freshwater fish is a delight for anyone who hates bones. What is more, “it is easy, predictable and not very fishy”, ChatGPT explained to me.
But there was no need to cross the Atlantic to taste this strange fish which, although still little known in Portugal, is being discovered by more and more Portuguese. Tilapia has recently joined the range at many of the country’s supermarkets and hypermarkets. It is sold whole or, more often, as fresh or frozen fillets.
AI translation from the Portuguese. First published in ECO on 25 August 2026.