THAILAND - The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has urged Thai shrimp farmers to design measures that will shield production from the effects of climate change and strengthen their competitiveness as more newcomers enter the export market.
An FAO expert also suggests an increase in the production of black tiger prawns, for which export markets still offer good demand and attractive prices. Speaking at yesterday's "Driving Thai Shrimp Industry amid Economic, Social and Environmental Challenges" seminar, organised by the Fisheries Department, panellists said the Thai shrimp industry still had great growth opportunities due to its high-quality production.
They also shared the view that the main risks to the industry are climate change, widespread shrimp disease, the fragile global economy and higher labour and production costs. In particular, the parlous state of the US and European Union economies, which are major importers of Thai shrimp, risks damaging the country's exports.
Simon Funge-Smith, the FAO's senior fishery officer in the regional office for Asia and the Pacific, said that as increasingly serious natural disasters such as storms, flooding and drought would occur more regularly, shrimp hatcheries should prepare protective measures to shield their production. "Thai farmers should also produce more black tiger prawn to serve the market, as there is still demand for this type of produce. In addition, it will differentiate Thai produce, instead of going ahead with [primarily] Vannamei shrimp against many export rivals," he said.
Thai shrimp exports are currently focused on Vannamei white shrimp, which accounts for 95 per cent of export volume. However, enhanced farming of black tiger prawn entails tackling disease and sanitary problems. "If the involved agencies and shrimp hatcheries could develop a sanitary standard and ensure no disease in black tiger prawn, then shrimp exports will be brighter as there are no competitors and there would be a steady supply," said Funge-Smith.
Despite higher prices, Thai shrimp farmers have focused on the Vannamei variety for more than 10 years, thanks to its higher yield and low incidence of disease. He added that shrimp farmers and food manufacturers should also be more concerned about the environment, as importers will increasingly raise issues involving environmental protection when making purchasing decisions. Buyers are now more concerned about import requirement in the fields of ecosystems for coastal protection, and reduction of wastewater and carbon-dioxide emission.
The shrimp industry is a large business creator of carbon-dioxide emissions, the expert said. Panisuan Jamnarnvej, president of the Thai Frozen Foods Association, said shrimp export volume would grow by just 8 per cent to about 390,000 tonnes this year because of lower supply, while value would increase by about 7 per cent. Risk factors for the sector include disease, climate change, the stronger baht and higher labour costs, he said.
In addition, economic sluggishness in the US, EU and Japan will directly affect Thai exports. Sales to these three markets account for more than 80 per cent of the country's overall shrimp exports. More than 45 per cent of exports go to the US, followed by 20 per cent to Japan and 18 per cent to the EU. Fatima Ferdouse, chief of the Trade Promotion Division of InfoFish, said Thai shrimp produce had high export potential in India, Russia, the US, China and Japan.
India and Russia have the greatest potential thanks to their economic growth, which will lead to increased imports of value-added products and aquacultural products, she said.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
