The Hindu Business Line : India may be first to produce certified organic scampi

Kochi May 14 As part of the India Organic Aquaculture Project (IOAP), the country is likely to become the first in the world to produce certified organic scampi. This is part of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) project on organic aquaculture in India with technical and consultancy collaboration with Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO).

At a meeting with MPEDA, Mr Thomas Sporrer of SIPPO spoke about the vast potential of the emerging organic shrimp and scampi market in Europe. To bring select farmers of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh into organic aquaculture, the project authorities would be visiting the farms in these states shortly. MPEDA and SIPPO had earlier signed a MoU for imparting technical and consultancy collaboration.

Prawns production

The meeting was also told of the changing trends in global fish consumption as a large number of affluent Europeans are willing to pay a higher price for certified organic fish products. Scampi is a large traditional fresh water shrimp found in coastal Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the Prawn Farmers Federation of India has said prawn production and sales from the country would double from Rs 4,800 crore to Rs 10,000 crore by 2012. This is likely to come about through an expansion of area under prawn culture by over 1.65 lakh hectares, of which one lakh hectares would be brackish water and 65,000 hectares of freshwater lands.

An additional investment of Rs 4,500 crore would be required, while availability of quality seeds, institutional finance and insurance would make the programme more feasible. More than 1.5 lakh farmers are growing prawns in 1.6 lakh hectares of brackish water areas both in the East and West coasts.

With the exit of all the major corporate players, aquaculture has now become an exclusive small-scale enterprise. With the growing economic strength and affluence in the country, the Federation is also planning to target well to do consumers from within the country.

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