Guayaquil, Ecuador-based ExportGaGroup has been farming Ecuadorian white shrimp, or vannamei shrimp, for the last 20 years, and is hoping to expand the company’s market by exporting in-house products.
At Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global in Barcelona Spain 21-23 April, International Sales team member Haarlem Ronquillo said the company specializes in the farming of Ecuadorian white shrimp in colors A2 and A3, as well as grade A, B, and C. Traditionally, she said, the company focuses on grade A, head-on, shell-on, value-added shrimp in a variety of different cuts.
“We are trying to look for new clients because as farmers, we sell part of our production to some plants in Ecuador, and we are trying to show our product by our own stores,” Ronquillo said. “That's why we have our own brands [...] that is the product that we can show to the world. ExportGaGroup is part of the group GAGroup, and GAGroup is the main entrepreneur, the main company.”
Ronquillo added that ExportGaGroup is a part of GAGroup, which also owns Star Ocean and Shrimp King. The company operates shrimp farms in Taura, Ecuador, and processes shrimp products in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Ronquillo added that GaGroup owns and operates farms, hatcheries, and plant processors, offering prospective clients a more advanced solution to customizing products requests.
“We always have the availability of the raw material,” Ronquillo said. “As a farmer, we have all the sizes available. We talk with the farmers and with [clients to say] we need this many tons, and they get us [that amount]. We do not depend on other farm sellers to give the raw material. We produce our own material and sell to our clients directly.”
Ronquillo said the shrimp also vary in size. For head-on shrimp, product comes in 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, and 40-50. Other styles have minimum quantities, and headless come in the same sizes as head-on. Additionally, she said products come in value-added form like peeled and deveined (P&G) tail on, P&G tail off, butterfly, and peeled undeveined (PUD). Weights vary from 2 pounds to 4 pounds, to 5 pounds depending on what the client requires.
“People should give us the first opportunity to do business because we are trying to give trust the first time,” Ronquillo said. “As sellers, we try to keep our trust with our client, [and learn] how your order is going and then when they receive our product, they taste the quality, they taste the color, they taste the process that we have made. We truly believe that it's one of the main points that make the customers come to us constantly, make more and more orders.”
For export locations, the U.S. remains the largest, receiving 15-20 of the overall 30 containers exported monthly. Other export locations include Canada, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago, Spain, Italy, and Portugal. Ronquillo said the company is trying to reach new markets and hopes to sell to the Middle East, some countries in South America, and some countries in Asia. The company started exporting with only two clients and has since grown to over 10 in two years.
“We are based on three pillars which are quality, price, and traceability of our product,” Ronquillo said. “As I mentioned before, as a farmer we have the whole traceability from to the hatchery, to the export. We have the commitment to give our clients a better quality of shrimp. We are focused on every shrimp that we sell to our clients are giving quality, giving a better price, and also the trustability of our product. We are trying to create long-term relationships with our partners, and it is an honored commitment, not just in the export business, but to just create a long-term relationship.”
Ronquillo said retailers have been the main export category, but ExportGaGroup is eyeing restaurant service next. The company has experience selling to retailers, who then in turn distribute to the market or to U.S. clients.
For Ronquillo, selling Ecuadorian shrimp has turned into a dream job, transferring from the technology industry to international seafood sales just one year ago. Being able to talk to international clients about both her home country and the quality of Ecuadorian shrimp is a task she said she’s loved.
“Selling shrimp, selling seafood is a dream for me because I never thought that I would be here,” Ronquillo said. “This is a good opportunity to show to the world that we are producing the best shrimp in the world. Most of the people who came to visit this show or to another show that we have been at tell us the flavor of Ecuadorian ship is so different to the others and it is the main characteristic to differentiate us to others. The flavor and the quality is so different than I have tasted in other shrimps. It's not the same. The color, if it's raw, it's not the same. If you eat it, the flavor is so different, and our shrimp is just better than others.”
