Chinese investors are being sought by a Mexican shrimp firm in a move which could see China drawing supply away from U.S. buyers.
Speaking to Seafoodsource, Guadalajara-based Jimmy Ibanez Urrutia explained he seeks investors to buy or lease a 523 hectare plot with a two kilometer (km) ocean front in Bahia de Kino, Sonora, Mexico, a site he deems “excellent for a shrimp aquaculture project.”
“My property is for a Chinese company with vision. If a Chinese company develops the property with new technology using greenhouses they will have great production. Farms in this area all use open pond technology. My property is virgin land which makes it special, most farms in this area are 10- 20 years old.”
Neighboring firms are key suppliers to the U.S.: Urrutia’s northerly neighbor is Julio Luebbert, owner of Selecta de Guaymas and Ocean Garden in the United States. Says Urrutia: “Shrimp farmers in Sonora export 90 percent of their product to USA. Sonora, Mexico has the best quality farmed shrimp in the world, according to wholesalers and restaurants in the US.”
Having Port Guaymas, Sonora, 188 km from the property is “a real plus,” according to Urrutia. “Most of the harvested shrimp is processed and packed in Guaymas, Sonora. The Chinese can make new contacts and start buying shrimp in Sonora and export it from Port Guaymas, Sonora.”
China imported 215,000 tons of fish meal from Guaymas, Sonora in 2015.
