Philippine shrimp exports welcome to China

Bingyan Lu, Southeast Asia Director of the Guangdong Nutriera Group, one of the presenters at the 14th Philippine Shrimp Congress 2023 last September 22, 2023, said that the quality, size, red color-based and taste of the Philippines’ Black Tiger Shrimp (sugpo) and the Pacific White Shrimp (suati) can become the next favorite in the 1.36 million MT shrimp importation of China, the world’s biggest shrimp importing country.

Lu explained, however, that the Philippine shrimp industry cannot guarantee sufficient volume to cover the massive demand for the “entire shrimp that means completeness” created by the Chinese market of this “convenient, premium, nutrient-rich food for happiness” placed at more than three million MT, his report showed.

He added that despite the abundance and over-supply market situation in the Philippines, the character of the local shrimp industry understandably is calibrated to respond to domestic consumption, and unlike its neighbors Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, these countries had developed to predominantly target the world market and leave only a small portion for their domestic markets.

He said that in the Philippines, the “major market” of shrimp is the domestic market while Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, target the export market to the whole world, the U.S.A., Japan, Europe, and the massive demand in China, among others.

Lu suggested, therefore, that Filipino shrimp growers and investors visit China and confer with their Chinese counterparts for a step-by-step confidence and trust building necessary for the expansion of the local market placed right now at 64,578 MT, of which 92 percent are consumed locally and only 8 percent are exported (BFAR 2020).

He presented the shrimp greenhouse farming model in the temperate part of China, especially in Rudong Jiangsu, which is basically a covered pond with transparent plastic sheeting using the elevated boiler systems that allow growers to produce even during winter season when demand for shrimps is at its highest.

The greenhouse model is a low-cost shrimp farm structure but garners a high price 70 to 80 percent success rate and there are reportedly some 250,000 of these ponds in China now harvesting an estimated 500,000 MT of shrimps despite the challenges of typhoons and diseases.

Meantime, Ryan Alegre of the Cebu-based DOBE Hatcheries and 14th Shrimp Congress Chairman affirmed Lu’s statement in his message that reads, “To achieve competitiveness, we must skillfully apply our strategic capabilities and strive to excel, or at the very least match the performance of our Asian counterparts.”

Given the huge market worldwide, he mentioned the need to invest, establish and construct more shrimp processing plants to be able to “adjust to the new reality” consistent with the 14th Congress theme “The Philippine Shrimp Industry: Building and Adapting to the Regional Open market.”

Joseph Sarrosa, President of the Philippine Shrimp Industry, Inc. (PHILSHRIMP), likewise underscored in his message which read, “Our goal is to familiarize all participants with cutting-edge technological innovations that have the potential to enhance daily operations., leading to increased production and a competitive edge in the market.”* (Gil Alfredo B. Severino)