April 13, 2009
Ecuador shrimp export sales down 23 percent in a decade
Export sales revenue of Ecuadorian shrimp fell 23 percent from US$875 million to US$673.4 million in the ten-year period spanning between 1998 and 2008.
According to official news reports, the volume of the same however increased over the last decade - 294.7 million pounds were shipped in 2008 against 253 million pounds ten years before.
The year 1998 was a low-point year for the Ecuadorian shrimping industry when the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) had appeared and sparked a lasting industry-wide crisis.
As late as 2005, the multidisciplinary contribution of biologists, agronomists and food engineers allowed shrimp survival to be maintained at a 65 percent survival rate per cultivated hectare as of last year.
In 2000, the total aquaculture area shrunk to 13 percent of its former size and prompted export levels to drop by 62 percent.
In addition, due to the contribution of genetics and the use of probiotics, the gramme amount demanded of each harvested shrimp grew. Shrimp specimens now surpass 0.022kg compared to 0.011kg in 1998.
In any event, shrimp executives have not managed to recover the US$3.46 price per pound of harvested shrimp of ten years ago, now valued at just US$2.09.
Today, farmed shrimp accounts for more than 90 percent of total Ecuadorian shrimp exports, whereas in the dawn of the aquaculture industry it only accounted for 15 percent of the total.
National Aquaculture Chamber (CNA) president Cesar Monge and foreign commerce vice minister Eduardo Egas met in late February to discuss the problems currently affecting the shrimp farming sector and to identify new markets for the leading Ecuadorian product.
The fall in shrimp exports to the US and Europe plus the drop in international shrimp prices are causes of great concern for sector executives.
Egas said that the commercial opportunities and new markets are in Russia, Mexico and in the Middle East.
While Monge added that at the same time, talks need to be resumed with the US and maximised with Europe in order to maintain our current level of exports.
