The head of a USD 25 million (EUR 22.7 million) shrimp production project in the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago is looking for Asian investors as it seeks to tap rising Chinese demand for imported crustaceans.
The project will have its own shrimp hatchery, feed mill, grow-out ponds, processing plants, and cold storage, according to Dave Singh, a former telecoms executive who’s enlisted several international experts to tap opportunities he sees in aquaculture. Singh told SeafoodSource he has enlisted notable industry names in devising the project.
“The feasibility study and business plan were done by Granvil Treece, who also was on the team that did the feasibility study and business plan a recent project funded by the prince of Saudi Arabia,” Singh said. “The proposed general manager will be Jorge Lango, who was recommended by Lorenzo Juarez at the NOOA Aquaculture Department. Juarez is the former head of the World Aquaculture Council and former CEO of shrimp-breeding firm SIS.”
Singh said he will hand over most of the control of the project to Treece and Lango once it gets off the ground.
“Mr. Treece visited Trinidad for four days and I have a contract for five years when I secure financing from Mr. Lango,” Singh said. “Mr Lango will also bring with him all the other department heads, such as hatchery manager, ponds manager, processing plant manager marketing manager, and others, but as general manager he will have direct control of the project.”
However, the project is still seeking environmental clearance from the government for its plan to deal with waste produced from the farm.
“The only thing that is required is how we will dispose of [a] few thousands of coconut trees… The water from the ponds will be drained into another pond, filtered and reused,” Singh said.
Singh said he consulted the island nation’s environmental protection agency on the issues of the tree clearance and on waste control.
“Their only concern was the disposal of shrimp waste such as the shrimp heads. I was informed there is a major piggery, Erin Farms, about 20 miles away and if I get a confirmation letter the pig farm will take the shrimp waste that is all I need for clearance,” he said. “Removing the coconut trees is OK because they [environmental protection agency] have issue certificate of clearance to three other parcels of land three miles south of our proposal, the largest being 430 acres for development.”
Developing countries have rushed to supply growing Chinese demand for shrimp, even as stricter environmental enforcement at home has driven down China’s own production. India grew its shrimp shipments to China by 546 percent year-on-year in 2018, to 12,463 metric tons.
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