Rabobank: Shrimp industry bouncing back from EMS

Emerging risks

While global shrimp supply is recovering, Rabobank cautions that “a full recovery is not yet guaranteed,” and risks remain that could rapidly reverse the situation. Significant problems persist in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Mexico.

“Further EMS issues, other diseases, weather problems or even a halt to the supply recovery due to lower prices, albeit unlikely, are all still possible,” it says.

In terms of new disease outbreaks, perhaps the biggest concern is Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP), a microsporidian parasite that causes slow growth and, like EMS, affects the hepatopancreas. Originally affecting only black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon), it now also affects Pacific whites (Penaeus vannamei).

EPS was first discovered in 2009 in Thailand and has since been detected in both China and Vietnam. But some scientists suggest it may be much more widespread and that it has not been noticed due to the focus on EMS.

“It is still too early to consider EHP to be a major threat, but it is a reminder that EMS is not the only threat to biosecurity. There could even be another, yet unknown pathogen impacting the sector, and we consider shrimp farming to be a high-risk activity,” says Rabobank’s report.