Early mortality syndrome (EMS) – technically known as acute hepatopancreatic necrosis syndrome (AHPNS) – is the No.1 challenge currently facing the global shrimp farming industry, having devastated production sites across Southeast Asia and Central America in the past two years.
However, the new report, “A New Dawn for the Prawn,” compiled by Rabobank International, states that while many unknowns remain, shrimp farmers in EMS-affected regions are finding ways to deal with the disease and reduce risk. In addition, strong prices have encouraged producers in other regions to rapidly expand production, with India,
In its report, the Netherlands-based banking group states that in terms of supply contraction, the worst of EMS appears to have passed in 2013 and that during 2014, global shrimp output has been recovering in most production regions, “albeit unevenly.”
Vietnam was the first major EMS-affected region to show signs of a recovery. Rabobank estimates that Vietnam’s production declined from a peak of 496,000 metric tons (MT) in 2011 to approximately 280,000 MT in 2013, but that current expectations for 2014 suggest its shrimp supply has increased moderately in 2014, possibly by 7 percent year-on-year to 300,000 MT.
Part of the recovery has been due to the ability to rely on low-intensity systems, but it is also due to the expansion of shrimp farming to new areas, it says.
