March 19, 2008

India may approve vannamei farming in May
 

India could soon start to farm vannamei shrimps once the government issues an announcement by April or May.

Despite initial concerns on the risks that vannamei shrimps could bring, India's agriculture and commerce ministries have approved the farming of vannamei, which would be sure to delight Indian shrimp exporters.

The ministry of agriculture has approved two pilot projects, which are doing well with vannamei farming for the past two years, in Andhra Pradesh.

However, other ministries are still having reservations on vannamei farming, as they raised concerns over the safety of the broodstock. The export sector share the exact sentiments, as they want the broodstock to be imported only from reputable sources, such as Hawaii, so that it is specific pathogen free (SPF) therefore giving protection to domestic species from unknown disease not prevalent in India.

India mainly cultivates the black tiger shrimp, which is falling out of favour due to vannamei's popularity. Vannamei accounts for almost 90 percent of the global shrimp production and its advantages include low production costs, better resistance to diseases and high stocking densities. Production cost of vannamei in India is Rs70-80 per kg, while black tiger costs almost double. The vannamei shrimp also grows much faster than black tiger shrimp.

These added components have resulted in the stagnation in India's shrimp production, and the country's shrimp export market was also dealt blows due to heavy anti-dumping duties and cash bond policies by the US.

Rs1 = US$0.02 (March 19, 2008)