SHRIM COUNTRY REPORTS

China
FDA Opens Three Offices
The Associated Press reports: Beijing...The USA Food and Drug Administration opened
three offices in China during the third week of November 2008. The new offices—the first
FDA offices outside of the United States—will increase effectiveness in protecting
American and Chinese consumers from food safety issues, according to the office of USA
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. Leavitt and the agency’s Food and
Drug Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach opened the first office in Beijing on
November 19, 2008, followed by one in Guangzhou and another in Shanghai. Leavitt has
said 13 employees will be assigned to work in the FDA offices in China, but has not said
what their roles will be.
Leavitt’s next priority? Opening FDA offices in India and Central America!
Source: Seafood.com (an online, subscription-based, fisheries news service). FDA
opening three offices in China this week. Ken Coons (phone 781-861-1441, email
kencoons@seafood.com). Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 781-861-1441,
email jsackton@seafood.com).

India
Orissa—Importers Not Buying Shrimp Because of Global Economic Crisis
Gorachand Mohanty, president of the Orissa chapter of the Seafood Exporters’
Association of India, says: “The economic crisis along with liquidation of many foreign
banks has hit the seafood industry hard as Indian bankers are not trusting foreign banks
for the transaction of money. We used to export shrimp and other seafood to USA, Japan
and European countries. But the shrimp importers of these countries are not purchasing
seafood from us due to the economic crisis,” Mohanty said.
Source: ExpressBuzz.com. Global meltdown hits seafood industry.

Indonesia
2008 Shrimp Production Will Not Reach Projections
Shidid Moeslim, chairman of the Indonesian Shrimp Commission, said shrimp production
is expected to reach only 350,000 metric tons in 2008, far below the earlier projection of
470,000 tons. In 2007, production was 377,000 tons.
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Source: Seafood.com (an online, subscription-based, fisheries news service).
Indonesia’s shrimp production below target for this year. Ken Coons (phone 781-861-
1441, email kencoons@seafood.com). Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 781-
861-1441, email jsackton@seafood.com).

Malaysia
Perak—New Policy on Shrimp Farming
The state of Perak is formulating a new policy on shrimp farming that will be introduced
early in 2009. The goal: to register all the shrimp farms in the state, which has
approximately 5,000 shrimp farms that have no legal status; that is, they are operating on
land deeded for other purposes or they are operating illegally in the mangroves. The
state will locate the farms and determine how they can be brought within the system—for
their own protection and for the protection of the mangroves.
Source: The Star Online. Perak to legalise prawn-farming industry. Chan Li Leen.

Mexico
Itamar Rocha
At “World Aquaculture 2009” (a World Aquaculture Society Meeting, scheduled for
Veracruz, Mexico, in May 2009), Itamar Rocha, president of the Brazilian aquaculture
association, will report on the status of shrimp farming in Latin America. It will be an
update of a report that he recently gave at a conference in China. [Editor: I’ve seen the
slides from Rocha’s China presentation, and they are loaded with new statistics on world
shrimp farming.

Philippines
Freshwater Prawns
The first national summit on “Ulang” farming (freshwater prawns, Macrobrachium
rosenbergii) will be held from December 11 to 13, 2008, at the National Integrated
Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC) in Dagupan City. Dr. Westly
Rosario, executive director of the National Fisheries Research Institute (NFRI), who is
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Rosario, executive director of the National Fisheries Research Institute (NFRI), who is
spearheading the summit, said that experts on freshwater prawn farming would discuss
ways to improve the production of freshwater prawns in the Philippines.
“Ulang” was given the name “Hipon ni Gloria”, during the visit of President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo at NIFTDC two years ago.
A prawn hatchery was built at NIFTDC, but it appears to have a strain of slow-growing
prawns. Rosario said the industry needed to find out what’s going on and figure out a way
to make prawn farming profitable. He said freshwater prawn farming was promising and
that it was very profitable in Thailand and Indonesia. Both countries have already
collaborated with the Philippines on ways to boost prawn production. Rosario said that in
Thailand, fish farmers were now raising freshwater prawns in hundreds of hectares of
former fish ponds.
Source: Balita-Dot-Ph. National summit on fresh water prawns slated in Dagupan on
December 11-13. November 18, 2008.

Thailand
Airport Incident Disrupts Shrimp Shipments
Beginning in late November 2008, thousands of antigovernment protesters overwhelmed
Bangkok’s two international airports, stopping almost all air traffic until December 2, 2008,
when the protest ended.
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when the protest ended.
Every night, Korea Air carries about ten tons of chilled shrimp from a small group of Thai
farmers to food markets in Busan and Seoul, Korea. The deal was concluded six years
ago between Korean traders and shrimp farmers in Suphan Buri, Chachoengsao,
Ratchaburi and Pathum Thani to deliver fresh product directly from the pond.
But not a single shrimp left Bangkok during the week-long protests, and the farmers said
they were losing about $56,000 a day, or about $391,000 since the siege began.
The loss may appear small when compared with those of some other sectors, but the
shrimp farmers could lose their Korean customers to suppliers from Vietnam and
Indonesia, said Vanich Sowanapreecha, the owner of Kaset Somboon Farm Co, a lead
company for the group of about 50 farmers. “No airplane from Korea Air or Thai Airways
International has been able to provide any service for frozen products,” he said.
Vanich asked, “What should we do with the shrimp?” The farmers had considered
dumping their surplus shrimp at Suvarnabhumi Airport, but later decided to give the
seafood away to nearby residents.
Sources: 1. The Bangkok Post. Shrimp shipments going nowhere. December 2, 2008.
2. Seafood.com (an online, subscription-based, fisheries news service). Cargo flights
resume as court ruling brings down Thai government. Ken Coons (phone 781-861-1441,
email kencoons@seafood.com). Editor and Publisher, John Sackton (phone 781-861-
1441, email jsackton@seafood.com). December 2, 2008.

United States
Georgia—Sulfites Not Listed on Label for Chinese Shrimp
Tommy Irvin, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner, has alerted consumers about a problem
with a frozen shrimp product from China. The problem is with Sea Best’s “10 Raw Shrimp
Skewers.” The product contains sulfites without listing them on the label. People who
have severe sensitivity to sulfites run the risk of serious or life-threatening reactions if
they consume this product. Scientists at the Georgia Department of Agriculture
discovered the problem during routine sampling.
The product weighs 1.5 pounds (681 grams) and contains 10 skewers of seven shrimp
each. It is a product of China, distributed by Beaver Street Fisheries, Inc., of Jacksonville,
Florida.
“We have notified the Food and Drug Administration of our laboratory findings, and we are
warning the public about the problem,” said Commissioner Irvin. “Our sanitarians will be
checking grocery stores and food warehouses to make sure this product is removed from
sale.”
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Carlos Sanchez, director of import operations at Beaver Street Fisheries, said the
company launched a voluntary recall of the product, but it plans on testing the skewers to
verify the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s findings. He said the label did not include
a sulfite warning because sulfites are not added to the product. “We don’t have
verification that sulfites are in the product,” said Sanchez, who said his packer assured
him no sulfites were used in the production of the skewers.
Sources: 1. WCTV TV News. Georgia Ag Department Finds Problem with Frozen
Shrimp Product. November 10, 2008. 2. The Wave (an online, subscription-based news
service published by IntraFish Media, Norway). Editorial Director, John Fiorillo (phone
206-282-3474, extension 25, cell 206-963-5732, fax 206-282-3470, email
john.fiorillo@intrafish.com). Beaver Street recalls shrimp skewers. John Fiorillo.
November 11, 2008.

United States
Texas—Harlingen Shrimp Farms, Whole Foods Market and “Shrimpsgiving”
During the month of November 2008, Whole Foods Market, a grocery chain that
specializes in natural and organic foods, sponsored “Shrimpsgiving” to encourage the
consumption of shrimp over the Thanksgiving holiday. Some of the stores had shrimp
from Harlingen Shrimp Farms in Texas. “Both our fully-cooked and raw shrimp are great
grab-and-go value items, and they make quick and tasty additions to special meals, and
easy yet elegant appetizers for Thanksgiving or for any occasion during the holiday
season,” said David Pilat, global seafood coordinator for Whole Foods Market.
Customers chose from wild and premium farmed shrimp, including cooked, tail-on farmed
shrimp from Thailand at $8.99 per pound and raw, shell-on, American-raised white shrimp
(price varied by region).
Pilat said, “Best of all, our farmed shrimp meets the highest quality standards in the
industry so you can feel confident feeding it to your family.” The Company’s strict
aquaculture standards require that its seafood contains no antibiotics, growth hormones,
or preservatives (like sulfites). To learn more about Whole Foods Market’s enhanced
aquaculture standards, visit http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/aquaculture.php.
Information: Ashley Hawkins (phone 512-542-0381, email
ashley.hawkins@wholefoods.com, webpage http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com).
Source: MarketWatch.com (part of The Wall Street Journal digital network). Whole
Foods Market Celebrates ‘Shrimpsgiving’ in Stores Nationwide. November 11, 2008.