February 20, 2008

 

Indian shrimp exports to US plummet by 50 percent in 4 years

 

 

India's shrimp exports to one of its largest overseas market, the US, declined by 50 percent from 41,004 tonnes in 2004 to 20,776 tonnes in 2007, on anti-dumping duty and strong competition from low-cost Vanammei species of shrimp.

 

Last year's shrimp exports dropped by 8 percent from the 2006 figure of 27,277 tonnes.

 

Anwar Hashim, president of Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) said the staggering drop is mainly caused by the anti-dumping duty recently imposed by the US Department of Commerce, which had forced a number of Indian seafood exporters to cease exports to the US.

 

In 2007, there were only 80 Indian producers exporting to the US, compared to 179 producers in 2001-2002.

 

Hashim further pointed that the rising popularity of cheaper Vanammei species also plagued the Indian shrimp industry.

 

Currently, almost 90 percent of the global shrimp aquacutlure is of Vanammei species, which is hugely preferred for its low cost of production, better resistant to diseases and high stocking densities.

 

The cost of production of Vanammei is INR80-90 (US$2-2.26) per kilogramme against the INR180-190 (US$4.5-4.8) per kg of black tiger.

 

While countries such as Thailand, China, Indonesia and Vietnam had switched to Vanammei production, India still cultures Black Tiger, Indicus and fresh water scampi.

 

India's overall exports dropped by 93,956 tonnes to 392,939 tonnes on April -December 2007-08.

 

All major shrimp exporting nations, except for Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico and Malaysia, reported a drop in shrimp sales to the US in 2007.

 

The total shrimp imports by the US also dropped in 2007 to 556,936 tonnes, against 590,299 tonnes, an all time high import, in 2006. The country imported 528,836 tonnes in 2005 and 517,617 tonnes in 2004.

 

Thailand, the biggest shrimp exporter to the US, also saw a decline of shipments to 188,319 tonnes from 193,764 tonnes in 2006.

 

Indonesia performed slightly better in 2007 with 59,069 tonnes exports while Mexico shipped 5,000 tonnes more to 40,558 tonnes during the period.