The Hindu Business Line : Japanese import of Indian shrimp declines

Is the Japanese seafood market stagnating? If so, then it is a cause for concern to Indian seafood exporters. Indian marine sector exports to Japan made up 16.18 per cent of the total shipments during 2006-07 fiscal. The European Union is the largest importer of Indian seafood, making up 33 per cent. During 2006-07, Indian seafood exports registered a 19 per cent growth, with their value topping Rs 8,000 crore. The increase in exports was despite a fall in shipments to the US, where curbs have been imposed in the form of anti-dumping duty.

According to Globfish, an arm of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, overall Japanese import of shrimp during 2007 declined to 2.76 lakh tonnes against 3.01 lakh tonnes the previous year. In fact, imports during 2007 were the lowest since 2003.

Raw frozen shrimp

According to the FAO body, sharp fall in raw frozen shrimp contributed to the decline. That commodity declined to 2.07 lakh tonnes against 2.29 lakh tonnes the previous year, while value-added shrimp imports too saw a drop in volume. Value of Japanese imports, too, slipped to $2.25 billion against $2.49 billion.

Indian shrimp imports by Japan declined to 27,025 tonnes in 2007 against 28,546 tonnes a year ago.

According to Globfish, scare of presence of anti-biotics in shrimp led to lower imports from the South Asian region. Japanese buying from India, Myanmar, Bangladesh and the Philippines declined. These countries are major suppliers of the black tiger shrimp.

In fact, imports of raw frozen shrimp in Japan were at a record low in 2007. Supplies under this product group declined from most of the sources except Thailand (up 31 per cent) and marginally China.

Value-added

Coldwater shrimp imports, which make nearly 12 per cent of the total supplies, fell 17.6 per cent compared with 2006, following decline in imports from all sources. The strong euro and EU markets were attractive to many coldwater shrimp producers compared to the Japanese market.

While Indian share in the Japanese market declined, China expanded its share in the processed and prepared shrimp sector. This has been witnessed for the last few years. However, Globfish said the trend was expected to reverse following quality concerns, particularly due to chemical contamination in food of Chinese origin.

Also, the Free Trade Agreement between Japan and Thailand could be another hurdle. The pact is likely to boost export of value-added shrimp from Thailand to Japan.

Countries with stringent quality assurance programmes would be able to sell more value-added shrimp in the Japanese market, the FAO body said. However, the falling market demand for raw shell-on shrimp is expected to continue, affecting exports of such products, particularly from South Asian sources including India.

Indian vannamei

This year, supply could be tight for the Japanese market since the shrimp producers in Thailand have announced a six per cent cut in production. That could chop of 30,000 tonnes of shrimp, particularly, vannamei.

That, in turn, could be good news for India as the Centre is in the process of allowing commercial farming of vannamei. A pilot scheme is already in operation in Visakhapatnam. In its outlook, Globfish said demand for shrimp in Japan was yet to improve even as food poisoning incidents linked with imported food from China, has affected overall demand for seafood in the market.

“The consumer concern is expected to stay until full reports are available from the respective authorities,” it said. With black tiger shrimp harvest seen lower in the coming season compared with last year, there could be a supply shortage in that sector.

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