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White-legged shrimp live in brackish, saline water and are normally bred in coastal areas. To breed the shrimp in fresh water areas, farmers have been using bored well water, to which they add salt.

Farmers who have no access to waste treatment have been releasing waste water directly into rivers and canals.

The release of saline waste water in fresh water areas will affect rice production, the Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 2 has said.

Last year, many farmers in the Delta began raising the profitable white-legged shrimp in unzoned areas despite warnings from local authorities.

Farmers earned a profit VND500-700 million (US$23,800 – 33,300) per ha for one crop (bred over 70 to 90 days) of white-legged shrimp last year.

Because of higher yields and prices due to export demand, profits were higher than those from rice cultivation and other aquatic species.

Last year, the country’s 600,000ha of black tiger shrimp had an output of 268,000 tonnes, while its 66,000ha of white-legged shrimp yielded 280,000 tonnes, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Many farmers in fresh water areas have turned their orchards, rice fields and fresh-water ponds into white-legged shrimp ponds.

As of last month, in the delta’s fresh water and salt water areas, farmers had bred more than 1,200ha of white-legged shrimp in unzoned areas, according to the directorate.

White-legged shrimp breeding has developed rapidly in upstream provinces like Dong Thap and An Giang.

In Dong Thap Province, for instance, 57 households in fresh-water areas have bred white-legged shrimp on a total area of more than 64 ha.

Of the 57 households, 14 have harvested white-legged shrimp, with an average yield of 5.6 tonnes per ha. One kilo of 70 shrimp sells for about VND93,000 ($4.4). Most of the households use bored well water to breed shrimp.

The massive exploitation of groundwater to breed white-legged shrimp could deplete this water source, according to the directorate.

In addition, if shrimp disease outbreaks occur in upstream provinces, they could threaten shrimp cultivation in downstream provinces, it said.

Speaking at a seminar held in Dong Thap on May 14, Nguyen Huy Dien, deputy head of the directorate, said the breeding of white-legged shrimp had brought immediate economic benefits because of high yields and prices.

However, the adverse impact will be severe, especially in fresh-water areas, he said.

Dien asked the directorate’s Aquaculture Division and other agencies to issue a report on the breeding of white-legged shrimp to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The directorate’s Aquaculture Division was asked to propose measures to tighten the management of white-legged shrimp breeding and ban the exploitation of groundwater for breeding the shrimp in fresh-water areas.

Local fisheries sub-departments were also advised to instruct farmers about the long-term impact of breeding white-legged shrimp in fresh-water areas, he said. — VNS

Source: http://vietnamnews.vn/society/255606/shrimp-farmers-told-to-halt-polluting-practice.html

In recent days, the price of raw shrimp in the Mekong Delta provinces continued to increase, rising to the highest price since the beginning of 2012, reports ThanhnienOnline.

The good prices are most likely due to the fact that many shrimp farmers do not have much to sell. According to the relevant agencies, in 2012 100,766 ha of shrimp died (mainly in the Mekong Delta) due to disease.

The government has been working hard with other countries to try and prevent disease in shrimp but it is still not 100 per cent successful. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has now recommended the total quality control of biological products used in shrimp production, prohibiting the dealing of products which do not have guaranteed quality.

Shrimp exports this year are also expected to be more difficult due to competition; there is a shrinking market due to the world economic crisis.

The Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors Viet Nam (VASEP) has launched three scenarios to improve shrimp exports in 2013. First, is to to control disease. Second is to find substitutes to Ethoxyquin in animal feed, and thirdly is to take measures to prevent traders from exporting shrimp to China.

If the situation worsens, shrimp may only turnover $ 1.9 billion, down 13 per cent from 2012.

TheFishSite News Desk

Source: http://www.thefishsite.com

Supplies & Prices

As the end of the farming season approaches, harvests in most of the producing countries are likely to be below the targets set for 2012. In Viet Nam large farming areas have suffered from severe crop losses throughout the season, while the large production and volume of vannamei shrimp on offer from India has had a negative impact on shrimp prices. Production slowed down in Thailand and Indonesia by the third quarter and Indian farmers cut back vannamei production in September. China’s overall exports of shrimp declined by 16% during the first half of the year, and the Danish shrimp industry has seen its exports fall by almost 17%. Falling market prices have also affected Latin American production but to a lesser extent.

Markets

Throughout the year, weak international shrimp prices have not stimulated consumer demand in the two large markets of the USA and the European Union. In Japan, however, the trend has been slightly more positive.

Japan

In Japan, cumulative imports of all types of shrimp during the first eight months were nearly 172 000 tonnes. Imports of processed shrimp increased, taking a 28% share of total shrimp imports. Demand for salad shrimp and cooked shrimp has risen, although there are clear indications of waning consumer demand for raw shell-on shrimp in the Japanese market.  For frozen shrimp, the Tokyo Metropolitan City office reported a 17% (7 000 tonnes) overall increase in sales at the Tsukiji market during the January-August period compared with the same period last year. Improved supplies and affordable prices have also led to improved demand for Argentinean seabob shrimp (head-on) and encouraged supermarkets to run promotional campaigns for vannamei shrimp, favouring Thai and Malaysian vannamei.

USA

USA imports increased during the first half of the year because of speculative demand by importers, which have proved problematic for the rest of the year.  Despite some swing in supply and spot improvements in demand, the market has been characterized by quiet demand and abundant supply.

The large production of vannamei in India has had a significant influence on the whole complex of the US shrimp market. Supplies coming from the other Asian sources (Indonesia, Viet Nam and Thailand) are feeling these effects and Thai exporters in particular are losing their market share.

Taken overall, between late March and early October, the wholesale price of a number of shrimp products clearly showed a negative trend, with purchases also suffering as a result of the weakening of the US dollar.  Nevertheless, given the worsening economic situation in the Eurozone and the reported lower buying interest in raw frozen shrimp from Japan, the US remains the important market focus for many producing countries.

EU

Waning consumer interest has badly affected EU shrimp markets. Consumers have cut back spending as confidence was reported to be at a 40-month low in September this year, while sales declined in both the retail and catering sectors over the summer. The weakness of the euro against the US dollar also contributed to the depressed demand. During the first half of 2012 shrimp imports posted negative growth of almost 11% on a year on year basis. In Spain, the largest shrimp market in Europe, shrimp imports dropped by one fifth. This scenario has prompted European buyers to look for cheaper sources, such as black tiger shrimp from Bangladesh. Some buyers have also opted for cheaper vannamei, mainly from India, which has in turn put pressure on the black tiger price.

China

The decrease in China’s economic growth this year, forecast to be around 7.7%, the lowest since 1999, has slowed shrimp imports. Canada remained the largest supplier with its exports up by more than 41%, followed by Thailand (+ 44%).

Outlook

The traditional year-end demand is not apparent this year in Western markets, and is particularly absent from the EU market. In the US there more than enough inventory to cover the Christmas/New Year sales even with improved demand. In Japan, shrimp prices are lower than last year, which could support increased consumption during the coming months. Demand for Southeast Asian vannamei and black tiger shrimp should be strong in the Japanese market from now until March or April next year. For year-end sales, the other markets in Asia will also be important for local and regional suppliers. Wider market prices can be expected to hold and possibly improve by late December.

Source: http://www.globefish.org

Prices for head-on raw material in the 60 pieces per kg size were THB 148-152/kg for the week of Nov. 26 – Dec. 1, compared to THB 144-150/kg for the week of Nov. 5-10.

One source involved in the Thai farmed shrimp sector, who wished to be quoted anonymously, said the impact of EMS next year will hit production further for the world’s largest shrimp exporter.

“We started with EMS in the east of Thailand,” said the executive, referring to the spread of the disease that has hit China, Vietnam and Malaysia also.

“However, now the disease spread to the south of Thailand,” he told Undercurrent News. “Next year we expect to have at least 20% less shrimp production.”

“Rumors say that the southern part of Thailand is facing multiple diseases that may potentially result in 60% of the current crop from that region failing,” said Jim Gulkin, managing director of Siam Canadian Group, a Bangkok-based frozen seafood supplier.

“It is just a rumor, at this stage,” Gulkin told Undercurrent. “However, this is helping to push up or least maintain high prices for raw material despite a current lack of orders.”

If the extent of EMS as is being reported is true, raw material will be short and prices will drive up further, said Gulkin. “Lately, Thai packers have been more aggressive in buying raw material in the fear that there will be shortages and this has firmed raw material prices.”

Shrimp production from Thailand this year is expected to be at least 10% down from last year, said Gulkin. It is expected to be around 510,000 metric tons this year, in terms of head-on production.

EMS is also still impacting Vietnam, Gulkin said. There is no major new production in Vietnam until March-April and that is very much subject to the disease situation, he said.

Indonesian raw material landings are way down, as this is the off season for them, with the new season beginning in January and peaking in February, said Gulkin.

India is currently out of season and no major production is expected until March. Meanwhile the season is “pretty much” over in China, with prices much higher there, as well, he said.

“In a nutshell, prices are higher from all Asian origins and I don’t see prices coming down in 2013 before the second quarter, if they come down at all,” said Gulkin.

Source: http://www.undercurrentnews.com

While the seafood sector saw high growth in the first quarter of this year, there was a steep drop-off in the third quarter, Thao said.

Seafood exports in the first 10 months of the year totalled US$5 billion, including $2.4 billion in shrimp, but this was well off the pace needed to meet the target set for the year of $6.5 billion, she said.

Shrimp breeders were facing fierce competition from Thai and Indian producers, and shrimp breeding in the Delta has been affected by a prolonged epidemic since 2011. Neither breeders nor processors were utilising safe production processes, she said.

The deputy director of the southern province of Soc Trang’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Van Khoi, said the province had lost VND4 trillion ($190 million) during the 2011-12 growing season due to the epidemic.

The deputy director of the southern province of Dong Thap’s Department of Industry and Trade, Phan Kim Sa, also said seafood breeders and processors were paying insufficient attention to quantity.

The seafood sector needed to plan and co-ordinate breeding areas and increase the value of processed products in order to maximise profits for farmers, Sa said, urging regulations be imposed to maintain a floor price on shrimp in order to help struggling farmers.

He also said the Government should more closely supervise the industry to limit unhealthy competition

Aquacultural Breeding Institute director Nguyen Van Hao proposed that local authorities impose good agricultural practices (VietGap) standards to avoid barriers being imposed on Vietnamese seafood by importers.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam also said the country should reform its process of negotiating major export contracts and seek more diversified sources of capital to develop the industry.

Source: http://vietnamnews.vn/

According to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Viet Nam’s shrimp exports to traditional markets like EU and the US have reduced strongly in the first nine months of the year.

Exports to the US market, for instance, reached US$333 million, down by more than 17 per cent over the same period last year.

Nguyen Hoai Nam, VASEP deputy general secretary, said while shrimp prices in other exporting countries have decreased in the past few months, they have risen in Viet Nam, making Vietnamese shrimp less competitive.

Tran Van Linh, general director of the Thuan Phuoc Seafood and Trading Corporation in Da Nang City, said diseases and high input costs have pushed up production costs, hence Vietnamese shrimps were priced higher.

In addition, with the domestic supply shortage, shrimp processing companies were having to import shrimp from other countries, including India and Thailand, to process for export, which also increased production costs, he said.

However, “in the current situation, if we don’t reduce prices, Vietnamese shrimp will be unable to compete with these countries,” he said, adding that it was not an easy task.

Meanwhile, there has been a slight increase in shrimp prices in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta in recent days, but not many farmers have shrimp to sell since most of them began scaling back production many months ago.

Vo Quang Huy of Soc Trang Province’s Tran De District said many shrimp farmers in the district have stopped or scaled back because they’d incurred huge losses to disease outbreaks, and did not have the capital to re-invest.

Huy used to be a large shrimp farmer in the district, with 150 ponds covering 700,000sq.m. However, this year he farmed shrimp in just 10 ponds and left the remaining idle.

Linh said his company used to buy about 50-70 tonnes of shrimp for processing a day, but this has fallen to as low as 5-7 tonnes now.

If farmers are not supported in their efforts to re-invest in shrimp farming, the country’s shrimp exports will reduce significantly in the coming months, he said. He also predicted that shrimp export value this year would not reach the $2.4 billion it did last year.

Source: http://vietnamnews.vn/

After remaining firm for nearly three years, the international market for shrimp has taken a clear downward turn, with export prices crashing in June as the impact of a large production of Indian vannamei shrimp began to be felt. Activity in the Japanese market remains low but export prices from most of the producing countries seemed to have bottomed out and regained some stability by the end of July.

Supplies and prices

Trends in raw material supplies have been mixed because of the price decline in international markets as well as disease problems in some of the aquaculture regions. While supplies increased from Thailand and India, the trend was reversed in Viet Nam and Indonesia.

Antibiotic residue problems in Vietnamese and Indian shrimp affected supplies to the Japanese market. Disease problems have also affected supplies of Indonesian vannamei shrimp and had an impact on shrimp production in Malaysia, with production of vannamei shrimp in Malaysia expected to be around 65 000 tonnes down from the 75 000 tonnes harvested in 2011.

In Japan, declining demand for black tiger shrimp pushed export prices down to USD 9.50/kg for 16/20 counts headless product, which is possibly the lowest on record since 2010.

Thailand

Ex-farm prices of vannamei in Thailand were 20% lower in May than the same month last year as a result of an influx of supplies, but recovered by 2-3% in July as a result of government and industry intervention. Overall, prices of Thai vannamei shrimp have dropped from USD 5.6/kg in January to around USD 4.00/kg in May.

Thai frozen shrimp exports in the first five months of 2012 shrank by 2.2% to USD 552 million largely as a result of the drop in exports to EU markets, according to the Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol. Exports to the EU, valued at USD 79 million, declined by 16%. The EU market is Thailand’s third biggest market after the USA and Japan.

In early May, the Thai government approved a budget of THB 2 billion (USD 66.6 million) to intervene in the market to prevent the sharp drop in prices of farmed shrimp. About THB 93.85 million (USD 3.1 million) will be used to subsidise interest rates for seafood processors to purchase 30 000 tonnes of vannamei from farmers at THB 135 (USD 4.4) a kg for size 60 pieces/kg.

Markets

Japan

In Japan this year, initial demand for shrimp from intermediary users was weak and only picked up later because of slow consumer demand from May till mid-July. Despite the strong yen, importers continue to put pressure on prices.

Imports of shrimp and shrimp products were higher than last year’s but in favour of coldwater shrimp from Argentina, whose appeal to consumers lies primarily in its attractive price. Overall, the average shrimp consumption level in Japan increased by 5%.

China

China imported lower amounts of frozen shrimp during the first quarter of 2012, down by 13.1% year on year. Among the main suppliers, only Canada managed to increase its shipments by more than 26%, while imports from Malaysia and Ecuador were down by 20% and 33.3% respectively. Imports from Thailand were more or less stagnant. Frozen shrimp imports from Ecuador into China increased significantly to 5 574 tonnes last year from only 324 tonnes in 2009.

Viet Nam

Meanwhile Viet Nam has been importing shrimp from Thailand for re-processing this year. According to the Thai Eastern Shrimp Association, during the January-April period, Viet Nam imported 2 860 tonnes of shrimp from Thailand, three times that of the previous year, driven by cheaper shrimp prices. Viet Nam has increasingly imported shrimp raw material from other countries, including from India, as domestic shrimp farming has been suffering from widespread disease.

Source: http://www.globefish.org/shrimp-asia-october-2012.html