August 28, 2013

 

Indonesia's shrimp prices nearly double in August

 

 

Prices of Indonesian shrimps almost doubled in August due to the falling value of the Indonesian rupiah amid harvest failure in a number of major shrimp-producing countries resulting in tight global supply, the Shrimp Club Indonesia (SCI) said.

 

Chairman of the eastern Indonesia SCI, H. Hasanuddin Atjo said the price of the farmed shrimps of the windu and vannamei types in East Java reached IDR75,000 (US$6.77) to IDR90,000 (US$8.13) per kilogramme, depending on the size.

 

The prices from the farms are IDR75,000/kg (US$6.77) for smaller ones (70 shrimps per kg) and IDR86,000/kg (US$7.75) for medium size (50 shrimps per kg) and IDR49,000 (US$4.41) for bigger one (40 shrimps per kg).

 

"The prices are almost twice higher than an average of IDR48,000/kg (US$4.32) last year," Atjo, who is head of the Central Sulawesi maritime and fishery service, said.

 

Atjo has a shrimp breeding farm with a production of 153 tonnes in a harvest/hectare in the regency of Baru, South Sulawesi. He said the prices of shrimps climbed as world's major shrimp producers like China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Mexico suffered harvest failure as a result of the outbreak of EMS (early mortality syndromes) pest.

 

The attacks of the pest resulted in dwindling world stocks while major world consumers like the US, the EU and Japan restricted imports of shrimps from the countries known to have been hit by the disease.

 

The falling value of the Indonesian rupiah (IDR) against the US dollar now weakening to the level of IDR11,000 per dollar also contributed to the rise in the prices of shrimp in the country.

 

Indonesia is one of a number of major shrimp-producers still free from the disease, Atjo said. In 2012, Indonesia produced 405,000 tonnes of shrimp and this year the production is forecast to rise to 500 million tonnes. Atjo predicted the world`s shrimp breeding industry would recover only in two to three years.

 

He said in a bid to protect the country from the EMS attacks, the maritime and fishery ministry and SCI have cooperated in tightening control of entry of facilities and infrastructure for fish breeding from countries infested by the EMS and improve the quality of breeder shrimps and socialisation of modern and sustainable breeding system among the farmers.

 

Pilot projects have been opened for modern farming in a number of production centres like East Java, West Java, Banten, North Sumatra, Lampung and South Sulawesi. Atjo said Central Sulawesi is one of a number of areas having comparative advantages making it potential to become a leading shrimp producer in the country. The condition of the sea in the Makassar Strait, Tomini bay and Tolo bay and surrounding areas are favourable, he said.

 

In addition the city of Palu and Bitung have been listed as areas to be developed as special economic zones that will certainly increase the competitiveness of commodities form the region, he said.

 

In 2013, Central Sulawesi already has surplus of energy reserve which will contribute to faster industrial growth including shrimp-breeding industry in the region, he said. The problem of the region is inadequate infrastructure including roads and clean water, and investment security, he added.