August 18, 2008

Asia Aquaculture Sdn Bhd, the largest shrimp producer in Sabah of Malaysia, plans to increase production by 400 tonnes to 1,700 tonnes this year.

The company produced about 1,300 tonnes of shrimp last year with its six farms in Sungai Abas, according to Asia Aquaculture general manager Pornphot Churod.

A subsidiary of Thailand's CP Group, Asia Aquaculture has harvested about 1,100 tonnes of shrimp as of July, Pornphot said.

Pornphot said the company is confident of reaching this year's production target and if the current market price of RM 10 per kg continues, revenue from this year's production may hit about RM 170 million.

All of their vannamei shrimps are locally processed, with 80 percent for exports and the remaining 20 percent for the domestic market.

Most of the production are shipped to countries like the US, Japan and the EU, Pornphot said.