Myanmar exports white shrimp (Vannamei) to China, Japan

MYANMAR exports white shrimp (Vannamei), which earns export earnings and has been successfully produced in the fish ponds of Myeik Archipelago, Taninthayi Region, to China and Japan, according to the Taninthayi Region Fisheries Department.

White shrimp farming was launched commercially in Myeik Archipelago in 2018. It shows progress in the farming industry due to the clean seawater and so the marine entrepreneurs are ready to expand farming if there is a solid foreign market, whereas the marine workers are also interested in white shrimp farming rather than capturing fish and prawns in the sea as they can make money after breeding shrimp for three months.

There are 200 white shrimp breeding ponds, about one hectare (2.5 acres), in Myeik Archipelago and about 100 ponds in Kawthoung. Arrangements are underway in Dawei. Out of 100 acres of shrimp ponds, 40 acres are used to store clean seawater and shrimps are kept in the rest of 60 acres.

One hectare can produce millions of shrimp larvae and they are marketable after three or four months. Shrimp farming is conducted three or four times per year and the boiled white shrimp are exported in packaging boxes to China and frozen ones to Japan.

The shrimp larvae and feed for shrimp farming are exported from Thailand. If the country can produce these two imports, the business people are ready to expand the farming scale and initiate new businesses.

“The fish and shrimp catches are falling and the fishermen show their interest in white shrimp (Vannamei) farming. The fish resources become rare and the fuel prices are also high and so they cannot make profits with their fishing boats. They seem to change from fishing to farming. The Vannamei farming is running properly and some also want to expand the operation. The main challenge is farm space. If the land where we cannot grow paddy or flooded lands are used for shrimp farming, it will be OK for those who want to expand and launch new businesses. It can improve the country’s GDP as well as the income of business people. It can be known if we observe Viet Nam’s success in the breeding sector. When they received over 8,000-9,000 million dollars from marine exports in 2019-2020, we earned only 700-800 million dollars. If the number of breeders is high in Myeik Archipelago, we have a plan to establish a feed plant by cooperating with Thailand. Experts from the university and officials of the Fisheries Department work together to produce shrimp larvae. If we can produce locally, we can save millions of foreign expenditures,” said U Thet Soe, secretary of the department.

If the people change their business from fishing to farming, the ocean resources will be high again and it can also make foreign income from such firm breeding industry. Currently, business people in white shrimp farming are running their operations properly.

Nyein Thu (MNA)/KTZH