September 25, 2013

Indonesian shrimp exporters see positive outlook on US sales

Despite a US panel ruling to exempt its rivals from countervailing duties, Indonesian shrimp exporters are maintaining an upbeat outlook on selling their produce to the US.

The US International Trade Commission said on Friday (Sep 20) that the government subsidies given to shrimp industries in China, Ecuador, India, Malaysia and Vietnam did not harm US shrimp producers; therefore, it would not impose punitive duties as previously planned.

The US Department of Commerce imposed temporary duties ranging from 1.1% to 54.5% on shrimp exports from the five countries last month, while sparing Indonesia and Thailand from similar tariffs as their governments were not proven to have provided improper subsidies to their industries that exported produce to the US market.

Indonesian Fisheries Product Processing and Marketing Association (AP5I) chairman Thomas Darmawan said on Monday (Sep 23) that Indonesian producers were ready to meet US consumers' surging demand after US importers had previously temporarily halted shipments on the fear that punitive duties would be imposed on their deliveries when they arrived.

While global shrimp supplies are currently shrinking as major producing countries, like China, Thailand and Vietnam, are struggling with a common shrimp disease known as early mortality syndrome (EMS), this gives opportunities to Indonesian shrimp exporters, according to Thomas.

He said the shrimp industry was being revitalised in a number of areas, including Lampung, Sumbawa and Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB); East and South Kalimantan, and South, Southeast and North Sulawesi. In June, for instance, shrimp farmers on Seram Island, Maluku, harvested their first output from 400 hectares of farms that had been revitalised.

Indonesian exporters may also deal with buyers who would push for lower prices due to the revocation of the US countervailing duties as well as the depreciation of local currencies against the US dollar, he said.

Indonesia ships nearly half of its total shrimp exports to the US. The country's shrimp exports to the US amounted to US$484 million between January and October last year. That figure was 4.8% higher than during the same period in 2011 and equal to 47% of overall shrimp exports.

According to US statistics, Indonesia was the second-largest shrimp exporter to the US, after Thailand, in 2011.