Welcome to Business Outlook
Related Articles
The government has allowed the commercial farming of vannamei shrimp, two years after giving permission for trial production.
A letter was sent from the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock to the director general of the Department of Fisheries on Wednesday, allowing the commercial cultivation of the shrimp.
The government has also formulated a guideline for the commercial cultivation of non-native vannamei shrimp.
Farmers said vannamei shrimp is disease-tolerant and its growth is also satisfactory. The cost of this shrimp cultivation is very low. As a result, farmers will benefit a lot. While bagda production costs Tk100, vannamei costs Tk50.
Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) Vice President S Humayun Kabir said: “These shrimps are being cultivated in regions like Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar. Now that we are allowed to cultivate it commercially, cultivation will expand and the farmers will achieve success.”
Khulna division fisheries department Deputy Director Md Tofaz Uddin Ahmed said: “The Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute is involved in the research on this shrimp. In light of their opinion, permission has been given for it to be produced commercially. This year, 12 establishments received permission for experimental cultivation of vannamei.”
Of the 12 establishments in Khulna region that have received permission for experimental cultivation of vannamei shrimp, six are in Khulna, one in Satkhira and one in Jessore. The other four institutes were instructed in vannamei cultivation after infrastructural reform.
Traders and exporters had been clamouring for several years to cultivate the more-profitable vannamei variety of shrimp. In view of the demand, the Department of Fisheries recently allowed eight institutions in Khulna region to bring shrimp fry of vannamei species from Thailand for experimental cultivation.
On May 9, 2022, MU Sea Foods brought 1.2 million vannamei fry from Thailand and started cultivation in the ponds of the Saltwater Centre of the Fisheries Research Institute in Paikgacha.
The establishments that received permission are – Fahim Sea Foods of Batiaghata in Khulna, Paikgacha Grotech Aquaculture Limited, Ion Shrimp Culture of Koira, EFG Aqua Farming of Dumuria, JBS Food Products and Industries Limited of Batiaghata and Radiant Shrimp Culture-1 of Satkhira’s Shyamnagar.
Shrimp traders said that the cultivation of golda and bagda shrimp cannot be conducted more than once a year (twice if they die during cultivation). However, vannamei can be cultivated thrice a year. A normal pond can produce 300-400kg of shrimp per hectare. On the other hand, it is possible to produce 7,000-8,000kg of vannamei shrimp on the same area of land.
It took five years for vannamei shrimp to go from experimental cultivation to commercial production in India.
Vannamei shrimp farming started experimentally in Paikgacha, Khulna, in 2021 under the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI).
That year, two companies were successful in cultivation. After that in 2022, 12 institutions were granted permission to grow vannamei shrimp and are seeing success.
What is vannamei?
The vannamei shrimp breed is native to Hawaii, US. Commercial cultivation of vannamei shrimp in neighbouring India began in 2008.
Apart from this, the commercial cultivation of vannamei shrimp started in 1988 in Thailand, China and other countries in Asia. Its cultivation in the Philippines began in 1987 while it started in Vietnam and Myanmar in 2000.
According to information from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Global Aquaculture Alliance, in 2018, vannamei shrimp production was 3.55 million tons, bagda production was 550,000 tons, golda production was 240,000 tons. Apart from this, other shrimp production was 300,000 tons.
Among them, Asia, China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia produced 2.391 million tons of vannamei shrimp in 2018. In 2019, the production in these countries increased to 3.112 million tons.
Vannamei shrimp was first introduced in the United States in 1970. Commercial cultivation of this species started around 1980.
Since then, large-scale cultivation began in many Asian countries such as China, Thailand, Indonesia and India.
Vannamei shrimp is now being cultivated commercially in 62 countries around the world. Among them there are 15 in Asian countries. Vannamei shrimps account for 77% of the world’s shrimp trade.
As the price is low compared to bagda shrimp, its demand is high in the world market. Among the shrimp exporting countries in Asia, Bangladesh was till now the only country where commercial cultivation of vannamei shrimp was not allowed.
(DT)
