After Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) problems plagued shrimp production in China, Thailand and Mexico in 2012 and 2013, increased production from India, Vietnam and other countries has filled in the gaps.
In fact, recovery of shrimp aquaculture will be driven by India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Ecuador by 2017, James L. Anderson, director of the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Florida, said during a presentation at the recent GOAL meeting in Vancouver, B.C.
“In regions with growth, the key reasons are related to the control or lack of EMS and the availability of quality brood stock and PLs (post-larval shrimp for stocking ponds),” Anderson told SeafoodSource.
The increase in Indian production – and the decline in value of the Indian rupe – over the last year or more have resulted in an increase in U.S. imports. According to the (U.S.) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shrimp imports (all product forms) from India through the first 11 months of 2014 exceeded 219 million pounds, about 16 percent more than the same period in 2013.
India shrimp production soared 42.3 percent from 2011 to 2013, according to Anderson, and is expected to increase 10.3 percent from 2013-2017.The only other region that is expected to see a similar spike is Southeast Asia at 10.4 percent.
In addition, overall Indian marine product exports reached an all-time high in fiscal year 2013-14, topping USD 5 billion (EUR 4.24 billion). Around 62 percent of that value was from farmed shrimp, according to the Marine Export Development Authority (MPEDA) in India.
Similarly, Indonesia’s shrimp exports to the U.S. through November 2014 were up 27 percent year-on-year from the same period in 2013.
Increased production from India, Indonesia and other countries was necessary after China, Thailand and other regions recover from EMS. Global shrimp production dropped 14 percent between 2011 and 2013, while U.S import prices jumped 11 percent, according to Anderson.
Meanwhile, in Latin America, the greatest growth in shrimp production is in Ecuador, where production in 2017 is expected to be 22 percent higher than in 2013 at approximately 365,000 metric tons (MT).
Because Mexico was heavily impacted by EMS in 2013 and 2014, production dropped 50 percent. However, Anderson projects near full recovery for the country by 2017, with close to 100,000 MT of production.
