Combined sales of farm-raised alligator meat and hides declined to $3.19 million by 20 growers during 1997. The previous recorded value totaled $4.5 million by 31 growers in 1995. The market situation for alligator hides has fluctuated dramatically during recent years. Producers sold 19,560 alligator hides valued at $2.4 million during 1997 at an average price of $122 per hide. This was a decline of 24 percent in the number of hides sold from 1995 and a 17 percent decline in hide value from 1995. Some hides produced were not sold due to low value of hide prices. Recent Asian economic problems are depressing hide demand and prices. Florida alligator hides are sold in green form (salted and rolled) to tanners who process the hides into valuable leather that is ready for use by the manufacturing sector. Although the majority of hide tanners are located in Italy and France, Florida growers do sell hides to several small tanners in the Southeastern United States. Tanned hides are manufactured into a variety of luxury items by manufacturers located in Italy, France, Japan, Singapore and the U.S.

Florida growers sold 112,822 pounds of alligator meat in 1997 for an average price of $7.02 per pound. Alligator meat is generally marketed as a boneless, frozen product with a Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission label to identify the meat as a legal product. Interest in alligator meat as a gourmet or novelty food is increasing as top-rated restaurants feature appetizers and entrees in their menus. The demand for alligator meat is expected to continue to exceed supply and any promotional efforts should target valuable niche markets that will yield the greatest return to the farmer.

Through a cooperative agreement among the alligator industry, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, a portion of CITES alligator hide tag validation and egg collection fees are being used to support marketing and educational programs designed to increase the demand for American alligator products. To accomplish these goals, collected fees are transferred to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and with the guidance of a seven-member Florida Alligator Marketing and Education Advisory Committee (FAME) promotion and education projects are prioritized and markets are targeted. FAME has stretched its dollars by pooling monies and matching efforts with the alligator industry in Louisiana. Consumer education has been the primary focus of marketing efforts to date. Sustainable harvest of wild stocks linked to controls on international trade has become a critical message at international leather shows in Italy and Hong Kong. Developing and maintaining these markets remains high on the industry’s priority list in addition to building new markets in the United States and Central and South America.