Thailand''s exports of black-tiger shrimp are starting to revive after losing much of their market to vannamei white shrimp in recent years.
Black-tiger shrimp made up more than 85% of Thailand's shrimp exports in 2004, at 200,000 tonnes, but exports plunged to 5,000 tonnes in 2008 and 2,000 tonnes in 2009, reports Michael Mackey.
"The fall in the black-tiger shrimp industry is due largely to white-spot disease detected from imported shrimp breeding stock," Sujint Thammasart, executive vice-president of Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc, (CPF) one of Thailand's largest agribusiness conglomerates told a Thai newspaper.
Researchers had worked to develop a better stock of black-tiger shrimp locally said Vet Sujint, who has been engaged in research and development for the aquaculture business for years. "We have been successful in developing specific pathogen-free (SPF) black-tiger breeding stock in greenhouses."
The system keeps parent breeders free from diseases and produces healthy post-larval shrimp. With bio-secure farming, these small shrimp will have strong disease-resistance properties. Good breeders can yield more than 1 tonne of shrimp per rai, he said.
CPF plans to export about 1,000 to 2,000 tonnes of black-tiger shrimp this year, from total exports of 50,000 tonnes of shrimp, especially to Europe and Japan where demand is strong despite competition from India and Vietnam. In the latter black-tiger shrimp make up nearly the entire output of 380,000 tonnes, but farmers recently started raising more white shrimp in 2009 with a goal of becoming the regional shrimp processing hub within a few years.
