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R. Balaji

Chennai , Feb. 14

SHRIMP exporters are gearing up for change in the current year as they face major issues in export markets, apart from concerns in the production centres at home.

The season is delayed because of adverse climatic conditions.

Shrimp arrivals might be expected only in May-end or June - over a month later than usual, according to Mr S. Santhanakrishnan, Chief Executive, Marine Technologies, a Chennai-based company with interests in shrimp farm inputs and technologies.

The prevailing early morning chill is not conducive to stock shrimp seeds in farms. Also, good quality seeds are not available.

Hatcheries had not been able to ramp up seed production as broodstock, the mother shrimps, which had to be caught from the sea was not available, he said.

Farmers unhappy: According to farmers in Andhra Pradesh, stocking has been hit also because farmers are unhappy with the prices paid for the black tiger shrimps.

At about Rs 230-240 a kg, the market has hit a bottom. Prices will have to improve for the farmers to evince interest in cultivation.

Representatives of the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) say prices in the international markets have hit a low.

Farmers will have to go for cultivating larger sizes - 22 g and more per shrimp - of black tiger shrimps because the market for smaller counts is dominated by another species - the vannamei. This species is cheaper to cultivate and is a major crop in the South-East Asian production centres. Therefore, India will have to strengthen its black tiger production in quantity and quality, they say.

Three legs: As regards exports, there are problems and opportunities, they say.

India's exports will have to stand on three legs - the US, Japan and Europe. It cannot depend on one market, either the US or Japan, as was the case earlier. Europe, though important, is a fragmented market.

But for now "the US market looks cloudy," say SEAI representatives.

Exports to the US have become costlier because of anti-dumping duties and the need for exporters to set up overseas representatives and issue bonds to US Customs. The bond value is about 10 per cent of the value of exports and this pushes up transaction costs more than two per cent - a huge increase when margins are thin.

So, there is a renewed interest in exporting to Japan.

Move to woo Japan: A delegation from the Seafood Exporters Association of India and the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is set to meet with importers in Japan. The dates have not been finalised, they say.

This year the exporters are looking at strengthening connections with this old customer - Japan. Beginning from late 1970s till 2000 Japan was the largest buyer of shrimps from India. It bought nearly 70 per cent, about 60,000 tonnes of shrimps a year between 1997 and 2000. Subsequently, it cut back on purchases on quality concerns and now buys less than a third of that quantity.

India exported about 30,000 tonnes of shrimp to Japan in 2004 and in 2005 it is expected to be about 24,000 tonnes, according to industry sources.

But Vietnam has supplanted India as a source for shrimps and exports over 60,000 tonnes to Japan. Also, India was an exporter of shrimp as a commodity, while Vietnam also sends value-added material.

More Stories on : Aquaculture | Climate & Weather

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