Shrimp farms seek government support

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines - The shrimp industry needs government support to survive, as it reels from the effects of high fuel prices and a strong peso. PhilShrimp, Inc. President Roberto Gatuslao said production costs grew 15% due to soaring oil and power prices, while the strong peso eroded the industry’s dollar earnings. He said the Philippines now produces about 24,000 metric tons to 30,000 MT of prawns yearly, compared to 100,000 MT yearly in the 1980s. And from its post of being the world’s second biggest producer then, next to Taiwan, the Philippines has sunk to 10th place. "We have fallen behind because we have not developed our export market," Mr. Gatuslao said in the three-day 6th Philippine Shrimp Congress here which ends today, citing the need for more effective promotion. Mr. Gatuslao said the shrimp industry can even treble its export earnings from $34 million in 2007, when it exported 40% of its production, if it has modern facilities that will enable it to ship products to Europe. The Philippines’ top overseas markets now include Japan and Korea. Senator Edgardo Angara, who spoke at the opening of the congress here last Wednesday, said intensified research and development is essential to the survival of the Philippine shrimp industry as it seeks more markets abroad, since traditional farming methods no longer suffice. "Following the collapse of shrimp farming in the last decade due to unsustainable practices and diseases, we realize now, more than ever, the need to keep up efforts at developing technologies and practices that will ensure the sustainability of the industry," he said. He cited a 2000 study of the Philippine Institute of Development Studies that said the high cost of shrimps is due to the low 20% survival rate of larvae and to the lack of refrigerated transport. Recommendations include tapping 106,000 hectares of unused brackish water ponds; introducing cost-effective, environment-friendly farming practices; and genetically improving shrimps. - Nanette L. Guadalquiver, BusinessWorld