A major distributor of shrimp seedlings is taking advantage of frustration among farmers over fake product in order to increase market share.
The Fujian Yuan Zhong Long Biotechnology Company, based in the southern city of Xiamen, invited shrimp farmers from across the country to view its facilities and inspect the arrival of a shipment of litopenaeus shrimp broodstock from Shrimp Improvement Systems (SIS) in Hawaii.
Demand for shrimp is driving an underground trade in “fake” SIS shrimp seeds, according to Chen Yi Ping, general manager of Fujian Yuan Zhong Long, who spoke to local media as well as Shui Chan Pin Dao, a web portal popular among aquaculture practitioners in China. As a result of the fraud, farmers have suffered low shrimp yields, Chen said.
