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Last year, Rio Grande del Norte produced 26,000 tonnes of shrimp and exported barely 6,000 tonnes. (Photo: Camanor)
Shrimp production to surge fivefold
BRAZIL
Monday, April 27, 2009, 15:30 (GMT + 9)
The state of the farmed shrimp industry is poised for a resurgence this year, as a result of higher production and solid expectations on recovering the international market. The optimistic forecast follows a disappointing 2008 that saw many harvests affected by abundant rains in Rio Grande do Norte.
Farmed shrimp production may surge by 500 per cent this year, with foreign sales also exhibiting an upward tick, said Itamar Rocha, the president of the Brazilian Association of Shrimp Breeders (ABCC).
Rio Grande do Norte is Brazil’s most important shrimp producer and exporter, but was hit quite hard by the retraction of the external market and by infrastructure and production problems.
According to Rocha, the state produced 26,000 tonnes of shrimp last year and barely exported 6,000 tonnes of this, Diario de Natal reports.
"Small shrimp will be most in demand. As of May, a revision of prices will be carried out and then an overview of exports will be drawn," indicated the leader during the launch of the Fenacam 2009 fair, in Natal.
If the expected growth does not occur, "the internal market will still dominate," he added.
Brazil shrimp production is worth BRL 40 million (USD 18 million), whereas global shrimp production is valued at USD 14 billion, Rocha stressed.
"That number is insignificant. Our country today is the world’s second best producer of shrimp, but the sector has a way to go before it can grow more. Competitivity tools are needed," he asserted.
Fifty containers with 1,000 tonnes of Brazilian shrimp harvested from the states of Ceara and Rio Grande do Norte will be shipped to Europe in late May.
The shipment will effectively mark the return of domestic shrimp's sale on the international market, at a time when both states project increases of around 20 per cent in local production, Diario do Nordeste reports.
Related article:
- Shrimp export to Europe renewed
By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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