Prawns Sorting
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Shrimp Updates
Recently the global market for coldwater shrimp has been difficult, but the last two weeks have seen a sharp increase in prices, which could denote an end to the crisis. This is the expectation expressed by the Norwegian purchasing organisation Norges Råfisklag.
Prices for industrial size prawn have experienced an increase, from below NOK 9/kg to over NOK 11/kg. According to Tor Edgar Ripman of Norges Råfisklag, who is following the shrimp market clos...(Full Text)
Further news in FIS Market reports
Shrimp farmers group calls for measures to prevent fall in prices
Bangkok (September 17, 2001) -
Thai Marine Shrimp Farmers Association (TAS) president Surapol Prathuangtham said over the weekend that he had submitted a letter to Commerce Minister Adisai Bhodaramik calling on the government to launch precautionary measures to prevent a fall in saltwater shrimp prices.
He said that the TAS was worried that the terrorist attacks in the U.S. last week might bring down shrimp prices, hurting the saltwater shrimp industry as the U.S. is one of Thailand's major shrimp export markets.
He said that the TAS faced several negative possibilities. Surapol said that importers of saltwater shrimp might temporarily suspend their orders, which would have a huge effect on Thailand's marine product processing industries.
A suspension of orders would drive down prices for the September-November harvest season, which is the last of the year, he added. Surapol said that if shrimp prices fell, importers might use the low price as a bargaining chip during next year's export season. If this happens, shrimp farmers would undoubtedly face heavy losses, and the country would post lower foreign exchange earnings.
He said that the TAS had proposed guidelines to the government to prevent a fall in saltwater shrimp prices, including the establishment of cold storage areas to absorb shrimp when the market is flooded. The storage areas would also benefit processors of seafood by reserving the frozen shrimp for them. "The government should support the scheme by providing loans to farmers based on the amount of shrimp deposited in the cold storage," he said.
Surapol also said that farmers should not panic and sell off their shrimp as it would precipitate a fall in prices. "If farmers dump all of their shrimp, the situation will be much worse," he said.
He added that the TAS had contacted cold storage houses to absorb the surplus shrimp in order to stabilize prices and that farmers who want to deposit their products can contact TAS.
Source : Business Day
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U.S. seafood consumption climbs 2.3% in 2000
Shrimp consumption hits record levels
WorldCatch News Network
July 27 - WorldCatch News Network -
Seafood consumption in the United States increased 2.3 percent with Americans consuming 4.3 billion pounds of domestic and imported seafood in 2000 or 15.6 pounds per person, government officials announced on Friday. The National Marine Fisheries Service said that the per capita consumption level of 15.6 pounds per person represents an increase of 0.2 pound from the revised 1999 level. Of the 15.6 pounds of seafood consumed per person, 10.5 pounds were fresh or frozen fish or shellfish, 4.8 pounds were canned seafood, and 0.3 pounds of seafood was cured. Compared to 1999 figures, that represents a 0.1 pound increase in both the fresh/frozen and canned products. The consumption of shrimp (all preparation) achieved a record 3.2 pounds consumed per person in 2000. Total U.S. supply of edible fishery products on a "round weight" basis was down 1.9 percent in 2000. While U.S. landings for human consumption increased by 1.2 percent, imported fish and shellfish increased 2.6 percent in 2000, comprising 68 percent of the seafood consumed in the United States. U.S. exports increased by 11.4 percent. Inventories of frozen seafood in cold storage dropped slightly, declining less than 1.0 percent from the 1999 level. The calculation of per capita consumption is based on a "disappearance" model. The total U.S. supply of imports and landings is converted to edible weight and decreases in supply such as exports and inventories are subtracted out. The remaining total is divided by a population value to estimate per capita consumption. Data for the model are derived primarily from secondary sources and are subject to incomplete reporting; changes in source data or invalid model assumptions may each have a significant effect on the resulting calculation.
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Top Ten shrimp exporting countries to the U.S. market in April 2001
(in metric tons)
Thailand 6,675
Ecuador 3,195
India 1,483
China 1,298
Vietnam 1,113
Venezuela 1,027
Guyana 985
Brazil - 819
Indonesia 813
Canada - 505
Top Ten shrimp exporting countries to the U.S. market 2001 year-to-date
(in metric tons)
Thailand 32,841
Ecuador 9,356
India 8,399
China 4,542
Indonesia 4,086
Vietnam 3,966
Venezuela 3,685
Guyana 3,615
Mexico 3,422
Brazil 2,983
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Shrimp market report
Iran Shrimp market
June 12 - WorldCatch News Network - According to an Iranian official, the Middle East nation is expecting a 250 percent jump in shrimp production during the current Iranian calendar year, which started March 21.
Arsalan Qassemi, an official of the shrimp farmers cooperative, said that shrimp production was not only a major source of revenue and job opportunities, but that if the industry becomes institutionalized, it would help development of shrimp farms on its borders with the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, according to a report by Asia Pulse.
Another shrimp official, Gholamali Karimzadeh, said plans are also currently underway for the export of trout to the Persian Gulf and the Central Asian republic.
Karimzadeh also said the production of shellfish was an undiscovered potential of the country's economy.
Last year, 7,800 tons of shrimp, worth US$22.9 million, were exported, showing more than 120 percent and 114.4 percent growth in terms of weight and value, respectively, compared to the figures for the same period last year.
Iran is capable of raising its shrimp production capacity to 200,000 tons, earning up to US$600 million a year, the report said.
More than 4,600 tons of fresh and frozen fish, worth US$4.6 million, were exported last year, up by 40 and 38.5 percent in terms of weight and value respectively, compared to the preceding year's value.
Iran produces a total of 400,000 tons of seafood a year, but only a fraction of this is being exported, the report said.
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France & Thailand Build Shrimps Together
June 15 - WorldCatch News Network - In response to shrimp and prawn exporters' grievance pertaining to losses in the European Union, Thailand's Fishery Department is seeking assistance from its French counterpart to develop environmentally sound shrimp aquaculture.
Dhammarong Prakobboon, director general of the Fishery Department, said an agreement was concluded between French fishery representative Stephan Robert for the establishment of 11 Thai-French shrimp demonstration farms in various parts of Thailand, which will employ environmentally sound standards and technology.
The farms will help Thai shrimp farmers produce up-to-standard prawns for export to the EU, which previously cut off Thailand's generalized system of preference (GSP) standing citing environmental concerns.
France, a leading EU country, has imposed tariffs as high as 14.4 percent on Thai imports of frozen shrimp.
The loss of the GSP and imposition of the high tariff rate on frozen shrimp has cost Thailand -once the number one exporter of frozen shrimp in the world - billions of baht in income.
The EU imposition of the 14.4 percent tariff on Thai shrimp is high compared to shrimp imports from Vietnam and India, which face taxes between 0 to 4.5 percent.
Thailand has no choice but to try to negotiate further with the EU countries, led by France, said Dhammarong.
Currently, Thailand maintains steady shrimp exports to the US and Japanese markets, which together add 1.2 trillion baht to the nation's export total.
Copyright 2001 Asia Intelligence
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Vietnam diesel spill threatens shrimp farms
About 10 kilometers of coastline affected
By Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Sept. 12 - WorldCatch News Network - Vietnamese authorities on Wednesday continued using chemical absorbents to clean up a diesel spill which is causing environmental damage in southern Vietnam.
Officials said the 900 cubic metre spill of diesel fuel in a bay near Vung Tau port has killed large numbers of marine life and has spread to several nearby beaches, shrimp farms and mangrove forests.
Clean-up teams were using limited amounts of absorbing agents which use aerobic and anaerobic micro-organisms, said Truong Thanh Cong, director of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province's science, technology and environment department.
He expected broader use of the absorbents following results of the initial trial use.
About 10 kilometres of coastline has been affected, Cong said.
Taiwanese-owned ship Formosa One struck an oil tanker belonging to state-run Vietnam National Import-Export Corp (Petrolimex) late last week, causing the spill. No one was injured in the accident.
Vung Tau's prime tourist beaches, about 70 kilometres southeast of the commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City, were 13 kilometres from the spill and not under immediate threat, official media reported.
But Cong said "very serious" pollution had occured in a handful of smaller beaches along the bay, with health officials placing No Swimming signs at affected areas.
The Formosa One and its crew and cargo were being detained by authorities until further notice.
Since 1993, there have been 13 oil tanker crashes in Vung Tau, port authorities said.
The port is the headquarters for Vietnam's offshore oil and gas industry.
Copyright 2001 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
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