Last week, Thailand's Fisheries Department released the outline of its 2009-11 strategic plan for the farmed shrimp industry. Thanwa Jitsanguan, VP of Kasetsart University's special projects, reported that the shrimp industry will focus on sustainability, including growing 2,000 acres of mangrove forests.
The plan also promotes growing seaweed in shrimp ponds to absorb impurities. Shrimpers use shells to clean up water and organic residue from the ponds, but seaweed gives shrimpers additional income through sales of seaweed after shrimp harvests.
Niwat Suteemechaikul, director-general of fisheries department, added that hygienic processing and promotion of environmentally friendly shrimping would boost market confidence, given lingering food-safety concerns.
Under the 2009-11 strategic plan, Thailand will peg shrimp production at 500,000 metric tons annually while stretching its distribution reach. The plan is 40 percent export to the United States, 20 percent to Japan and 17 percent to European Union.
Last year, 52.1 percent of Thailand's 349,418 metric tons of shrimp went to the United States, 20 percent to Japan and 9.54 percent to the European Union.
Thailand is looking to penetrate export markets in China, Russia, the Middle East and other Asian countries. Product diversity is also in the plan to attract various markets.
Suteemechaikul said that shrimpers' extra attention on direct sales to end-users like hotels, restaurants and grocery chains reachable within three-hour flights added up to 30,000 metric tons a year, eliminating middlemen and giving shrimpers more profit.
However, Suteemechaikul stated that Thailand missed its target for processed shrimp products. On the plan, value-added products represented 65 percent of shrimp exports. To date, it made up for only 54.5 percent of total exports, although it was up from 50.5 percent in 2006.
