SHRIMP MEDIA MONITORING August 2004library.enaca.org/Shrimp/Newsletter_August_2004.pdf · 19. Perak Govt in Malaysia To Act Against Illegal Prawn Farmers 20. Prawn Farming To Be Promoted

SHRIMP MEDIA MONITORING – August 2004 1

SHRIMP MEDIA MONITORING August 2004

“A Synthesis of Shrimp News From the International Media and Internet”

This newsletter includes news on shrimp farming, and related issues of trade, environment and development, obtained from NACA and STREAM media monitoring program. This media monitoring program tracks some of the major news items on aquaculture and aquatic resources management, with an emphasis on issues relevant to the Asia-Pacific region. The source of the news item is provided and for those interested in the media-monitoring program, please check out information sources at www.streaminitiative.org

If any comments and/or contributions please let us know at e-mail: [email protected] This Month’s News Items: 1. Shrimp Now Most Traded Seafood Product Worldwide: Report 2. Seafood Industry Calls for Additional Safeguards on Imports; Pilot Program Would Target

Antibiotic Residues 3. ActionAid International and other Humanitarian Organizations Condemn Unjustified U.S.

Shrimp Duties on Vietnam; Warn that U.S. Trade Action Could Devastate Vietnamese Economy 4. New US Tariffs Levied On Shrimp Imports 5. India, Brazil, Thailand protest planned U.S. shrimps tariffs 6. India’s Shrimp Industry Contests US Decision 7. Vietnam's Shrimpers Decry U.S. Tariffs; Some Fear They Will Go Out Of Business 8. Brazil To Challenge Proposed U.S. Shrimp Tariffs 9. Thai Shrimp Exporters Are Optimistic As Dumping Fines Are Set Relatively Low 10. Thai Shrimp To Taste Better in US After Anti-Dumping Probe 11. Imposition Of Tariffs Mixed News For U.S. Shrimpers 12. Shrimp, Our Favorite Fish, Will Get More Costly 13. Critics: Tariffs won't save U.S. shrimpers 14. Vietnam Seeks Supports In Shrimp Lawsuit From US Congressmen 15. US Trade Mission To Inspect Seafood Business In Vietnam 16. DOC Amends Preliminary Ruling In Shrimp Lawsuit 17. DOC Amends Brazil’s Preliminary Shrimp Dumping Findings 18. US Shrimp Fishing: Call for major overhaul to industry 19. Perak Govt in Malaysia To Act Against Illegal Prawn Farmers 20. Prawn Farming To Be Promoted In Seven Districts Of Orissa In India 21. Ideal Sites For Giant Freshwater Prawn Culture Identified In The Philippines 22. National Plan For Fish, Shrimp Development Soon: Pakistan 23. Vietnamese Govt To invest US$320 Mln in Aquaculture 24. Mekong Delta Focuses On Aquaculture 25. Vietnamese Experts Fine-tune Shrimp Breeding 26. Vietnamese Shrimp to Meet International Hygiene Standards

1. Shrimp Now Most Traded Seafood Product Worldwide: Report Shrimp, a potential major export product of the Philippines, is now the most traded seafood product worldwide, according to a report of the Rome-based United Nations (UN) Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).


The report said some 26 per cent of total shrimp production in the country now comes from aquaculture (1.1 million tons in 2000). Shrimp produced in Asian countries like the Philippines and the big producers like Thailand, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam are mostly raised through aquaculture. The report revealed that the major markets of the seafood product are Japan, the United States and the European countries. Demand for shrimp and prawns, it said, is expected to increase in the medium to long term. Asian markets such as China, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia will expand as local economies grow and consumers demand more seafood, the report added. The report said this trend is already reducing the availability of shrimp to traditional importers and will eventually put upward pressure on prices if supplies do not expand. Increases in prices, it said, will encourage new entries into shrimp farming and, if sustainable methods of production are used, greater stability of prices. Although the US, a major shrimp market, is beginning to restrict shrimp exports coming from Asia, users of the food product are worried about possible rise in prices. In places where shrimp, usually the tiger prawns, are being farmed, the major concern is the damage the shrimp culture has done to wetlands. Environmental groups from all over the world are now working to help save the wetlands and make the farms sustainable. (Source: Asia Pulse, August 3, 2004)

2. Seafood Industry Calls for Additional Safeguards on Imports; Pilot Program Would Target

Antibiotic Residues The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) has asked the Food & Drug Administration to cooperate on a pilot program to further enhance the safety of imported seafood. Nearly 80 percent of seafood is imported, and although a mandatory HACCP inspection program already addresses seafood safety, FDA (http://www.fda.gov/opacom/hpwhats.html) and U.S. seafood importers want to further augment safety through cooperation with overseas producers. The proposed program includes mechanisms for verifying HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) measures used by foreign processing plants. HACCP, implemented by FDA at the request of the seafood industry in 1998, requires processors to identify points in the production process at which problems may occur, and then institute controls to prevent such problems. U.S. processors are required to maintain extensive documentation of HACCP safety procedures, which is regularly reviewed by FDA. Originally developed to ensure food safety in the space program, HACCP is now required of most US food producers. The seafood industry recommends that the pilot program target the use of unapproved antibiotic residues in shrimp, such as chloramphenicol or nitrofurans, which may be illegally fed or applied at the farming or processing level. While less than 5 percent of imported shrimp tested has been found to contain traces of these prohibited antibiotics, shrimp is the largest seafood import (nearly 90 percent of U.S. shrimp is imported, about half of which is farmed) and the most-consumed seafood in America, at 3.4 lbs. per capita. The initial program likely would be conducted with Thailand, the largest exporter of shrimp to the US. A guidance document of “best practices,” being developed by NFI to assist foreign producers with HACCP compliance, includes purchasing specifications by foreign shrimp processors that require product free of illegal antibiotics, as well as the processors' HACCP plan with semi-annual verification by food safety authorities, frequent verification testing of product samples by a certified laboratory


under established U.S. FDA sampling and testing guidelines, and verification procedures by U.S. importers to ensure that tested product and imported product are the same As envisioned, the pilot program would be conducted for approximately 6-12 months and, if successful, may be expanded to other products and countries. (Source: U.S. Newswire, Aug 9, 2004)

3. ActionAid International and other Humanitarian Organizations Condemn Unjustified U.S.

Shrimp Duties on Vietnam; Warn that U.S. Trade Action Could Devastate Vietnamese Economy

ActionAid International, the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, and the Vietnam Fishery Association today warned that the US Department of Commerce's (DOC) preliminary dumping duty estimates for Vietnamese shrimp exports to the U.S. will have grave consequences to Vietnamese citizens who raise and market shrimp as well as to the overall national economy if they remain in place. The groups strongly criticized the DOC duty levels as unjustified, and urged the U.S. government to re-examine its calculations in the final phase of the DOC investigation. At the end of 2003, a group of domestic US shrimp producers petitioned the U.S. government to tax their competitors and consumers by placing duties on imported shrimp from Vietnam and five other countries. On July 6, the Commerce Department announced preliminary dumping margins on shrimp imports from Vietnam ranging from 12.11 percent to 93.13 percent. “U.S. duties on shrimp will devastate Vietnam's economy and the country's ability to improve the lives of its people,” stated Dr. Ramesh Khadka, Country Director, ActionAid Vietnam. “With the encouragement of the United States, Vietnam's shrimp industry has been built on free market principles. The shrimp industry is a key component of Vietnam's economy, responsible for creating approximately 3.5 million jobs directly or indirectly in shrimp and shrimp related businesses. In addition, revenues from shrimp exports rank third among all the country's exports, trailing only crude oil and garments.” “Vietnam's shrimp industry is doing nothing illegal,” said Dr. Khadka. “The country has a competitive advantage over US shrimpers because it uses modern aquaculture technology and benefits from favourable natural conditions and low labour costs in farming shrimp. Vietnam produces a quality product that is in great demand in the United States. Moreover, growth industries like shrimp farming are absolutely vital to raising the overall level of economic development in Vietnam and other developing countries. Protectionist tariffs prevent countries like Vietnam from moving forward.” “A recent survey conducted by ActionAid showed that shrimp farming accounts for 50 percent of GDP in some provinces,” Dr. Khadka continued. “More than 44 percent of peasant households in these regions derive their income from shrimp farming. Shrimp farmers obtain credit from banks by mortgaging assets and acquiring credit at standard interest rates. The industry receives no special treatment from the Vietnamese government. These duties will throw many Vietnamese, who have poured virtually all their assets into shrimping in the desire to improve their lives, back into poverty.” “Our survey also revealed that shrimp industry wages are generally higher than overall income levels in Vietnam and salaries at shrimp processing factories are significantly higher still,” said Dr. Khadka. “Shrimp farmers and processors earn a decent wage in Vietnamese terms that allows them to support their families.” “If these dumping duties remain, millions of Vietnamese will suffer,” he continued. “Forty-five percent of shrimp exports go to the U.S., making it Vietnam's largest market. ActionAid along with other humanitarian and international donor organizations has been working to better the lives of the Vietnamese people through fair market initiatives. Shrimp farming is more profitable and


less physically rigorous than cultivating rice, which generates only one-third or less the income of shrimp for Vietnamese.” In 2003, the U.S. imposed dumping duties on Vietnamese catfish. The shrimp trade petition constitutes a far greater threat to Vietnam's economy; shrimp exports are worth approximately $500 million compared to the $10 million value of catfish exports, and the shrimp industry employs more than eight times as many workers as the approximately 400.000 people working in the catfish industry." According to Andrew Wells-Dang, regional representative of the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, the so-called "non-market" economy provisions of the US dumping laws resulted in Vietnam and China receiving different treatment than the other four countries in the shrimp case. “This treatment is evidence of the contradictions in U.S. trade policy. The United States and Vietnam have signed a bilateral trade agreement designed to encourage Vietnamese private sector development and exports, and yet the US duty determinations ignore real Vietnamese market conditions, resorting to numbers based on shrimp production in some unrelated ‘surrogate’ country.” “ActionAid calls on the United States government to ensure a fair investigation of Vietnam's shrimp industry,” concluded Dr. Khadka. “Based on our first hand observations, we are confident that, if a fair investigation is conducted, no dumping duties will be placed on Vietnam's shrimp exports.” ActionAid International is an international non-governmental organization working in 35 countries in the World. It started working in Vietnam in 1989 in the field of hunger eradication and poverty reduction. (Source: PR Newswire, August 5, 2004 http://www.prnewswire.com)

4. New US Tariffs Levied On Shrimp Imports The US took further steps to restrict imports of the most popular seafood in the US, by announcing it would impose new tariffs on shrimp from Thailand, India, Ecuador and Brazil. The duties will affect imports that last year were worth nearly Dollars 1.7bn (Pounds 933m), and come on top of tariffs imposed this month against shrimp imports from Vietnam and China worth more than Dollars 1bn. But the actions, in an anti-dumping case brought by domestic shrimp fishermen who have seen their share of the US market dwindle in the face of imports of low-cost, farm-raised shrimp, are unlikely to result in sharply higher domestic prices. Imports comprise more than 85 per cent of shrimp sales. The US Commerce Department, in its preliminary determination released yesterday, ruled that while the four countries were selling shrimp at below fair cost in the US, they should face only modest penalties. Thailand, which is by far the largest shrimp exporter to the US, with sales worth nearly Dollars 1bn last year, was assessed new tariffs ranging from 5.56 per cent to 10.25 per cent. India, the fourth largest exporter, will pay new levies of between 3.56 per cent and 27.5 per cent, with most exporters paying 14.2 per cent. Most Brazilian exporters will pay an extra 37 per cent, while Ecuadorian companies will pay from 6.1 per cent to 9.35 per cent. US shrimp fishermen and processors had been seeking far higher duties on these countries, ranging between 32 per cent and 166 per cent.


Under US law, while preliminary cash deposits or bonds will be collected immediately on the imports, the penalties will not become final unless a separate agency, the International Trade Commission, rules early next year that US fishermen have been harmed by unfairly priced imports. The case, one of the largest US anti-dumping actions, has generated strong international criticism over fears that the US would block one of the most lucrative exports for poorer countries such as Vietnam, India and Thailand. US importers and sellers of shrimp said they would continue to fight to remove the duties. “These four countries are not dumping shrimp in the US. They are efficiently producing a high-quality product and the US industry has failed to compete effectively with these imports,” said Wally Stevens, chairman of the Shrimp Task Force. Critics also say that such cases are being encouraged by the Byrd rule, which allows US companies bringing such cases to pocket the tariff revenues that are collected. At an average tariff of just 15 per cent, US shrimp fishermen and processors who filed the case would gain about Dollars 180m a year, according to estimates by opponents of the case. The World Trade Organisation has ruled that the US must rescind the Byrd rule, but Congress has yet to act on the WTO decision. (Source: Financial Times (London, England), July 30, 2004) 5. India, Brazil, Thailand protest planned U.S. shrimps tariffs Proposed U.S. tariffs on imports from four of the world's largest shrimp-producing nations sparked protests Friday with Brazil, India and Thailand denying dumping shellfish on the U.S. market at artificially low prices. Brazilian shrimp farmers, who tripled production in five years to profit from rising worldwide demand, said they plan to appeal the proposed tariffs that could run as high as 68 percent for Latin America's largest country. Lower tariffs have been proposed against India and Thailand, as well as Ecuador. The U.S. administration claims that the low prices at which the four nations have been selling their shrimp in the United States has hurt domestic producers. The announcement Thursday came three weeks after the United States proposed tariffs on shrimp from China and Vietnam. In all, the six countries provide about 75 percent of the shrimp Americans eat. Prawns and shrimps are much more expensive in the United States than in Asia, South America and southern Africa. Although the latest proposal is preliminary, it is expected to stand. The U.S. Commerce Department will make a final decision in a few months. Even though Thailand denies the dumping charges, government officials and industry leaders said the country may actually benefit from the U.S. ruling. Tariffs on Thai shrimp are expected to average 6.4 percent, significantly lower than those Brazil and other nations face. “It's a good opportunity for Thai shrimp farmers,” said Somsak Paneetatyasai, president of the Thai Shrimp Association. “Thailand has the lowest rate among the six countries, so it benefits the shrimp industry in Thailand because our competitiveness is better than before.”


Indian shrimp exporters, who face tariffs of 4 percent to 27 percent, said the proposal was “unfair and unwarranted.” “We are very disappointed by the ruling,” Abraham Tharakan, president of the Seafood Exporters Association of India, told The Associated Press. He said the association had hired a U.S.-based law firm to defend its interest. “I hope justice will be done to countries like India because we have not been dumping cheap shrimp in U.S. markets,” Tharakan added. Itamar Rocha, president of the Brazilian Shrimp Farmers Association, also denied selling at artificially low prices. “This is not dumping,” Rocha said. “What we have are good Brazilian entrepreneurs who identified a market and built businesses to supply the demand.” Rocha said the association will soon map its legal strategy to contest the decision. Brazil's Foreign Ministry said the government will study ways to challenge the proposed tariffs with the 147-nation World Trade Organization. Brazil, like other developing countries where shrimp are grown in manmade lagoons from larvae hatched in laboratories, benefits from low labor costs and a temperate climate. And the industry's heart in northeastern Brazil near the Equator has year-round sunshine and warm temperatures that make for near-perfect shrimp growing conditions. “America can't compete with our region because it doesn't have our conditions,” Rocha said. While American food producers receive government subsidies seen as lavish in developing countries, Rocha added, “the government of Brazil does not help Brazilian shrimp producers with subsidies.” Warren Connelly, a trade lawyer for Ecuador, said “the only thing I can say is that the gap between the allegations and the reality is significant.” Ecuadorean shrimp exports now face tariffs between 6 percent and 9 percent. Teodoro Maldonado, vice president of the Guayaquil Chamber of Commerce, estimated that the tariffs would cost the Ecuadorean shrimp industry $30 million a year. (Source: The Associated Press, July 30, 2004; Jakarta Post, July 31, 2004, http://www.thejakartapost.com)

6. India’s Shrimp Industry Contests US Decision Terming as “unfair” the imposition of preliminary anti-dumping duty on shrimp exports to the US, the Indian sea-food industry said it was legally contesting the case and hoped that the duties would be reduced considerably when the final decision is taken. “We are hopeful when the US International Trade Commission team comes to India to verify the data provided by us, the duties may come down considerably,” Indian Seafood Association Secretary General Raghunath Reddy told PTI over phone from the southern port of Vizag. He said the Association had already hired a US law firm which was all set to contest the case but said this was only one stage of the whole process which was yet to be completed. Disagreeing with the procedure followed for calculation of the duty, he said there were certain contentious issues like that of the US calculating the duty on the basis of export to a third country (EU in this case) could be used here as India was supplying glazed products (shrimp with water) to EU. He said he expected duty in case of Hindustan Lever Ltd to come down from 27.49 per cent and to completely go in case of Devi Seafood. US Department of Commerce had announced preliminary anti-dumping duty on India between 3.56 per cent and 27.49 per cent. (Source: Asia Pulse, August 2, 2004)


7. Vietnam's Shrimpers Decry U.S. Tariffs; Some Fear They Will Go Out Of Business Like any good entrepreneur, Tran Huu Mai seized an opportunity: He helped Americans satisfy their craving for plump, juicy shrimp. Three years ago, the 60-year-old pig farmer took his life's savings and built a shrimp farm beneath the vast skies of the Mekong Delta, a fertile, swampy region more famous for producing rice than crustaceans. The profits came quickly. But so did the wrath of the U.S. government the very same government that has touted the benefits of free trade to people like Mai in developing nations around the globe. At the behest of U.S. shrimpers, the Commerce Department ruled earlier this month that Vietnamese and Chinese shrimp growers have been “dumping” their shrimp on the U.S. market at unreasonably low prices. The United States has begun collecting tariffs of up to 93 percent on Vietnamese shrimp and 113 percent on Chinese shrimp. And Thursday, the administration proposed tariffs against Brazil, Ecuador, India and Thailand that ranged from 4 percent to 68 percent, far smaller than what Southern shrimpers and processors had sought. The rates are preliminary. The foreign shrimpers can appeal the ruling, which won't become final until January. But Mai's profits are tumbling already. The Vietnamese export companies that buy his product are paying 30 percent less than before. If the U.S. government doesn't have mercy and lower the tariffs, Mai says, he'll have to go out of business. He's already laid off 20 of his 30 workers, keeping on a skeleton crew that is mostly extended family. “I hope the Department of Commerce will reconsider this ruling,” Mai said. “That's my only hope for a good future. We just want the U.S. government to look at this case fairly.” Mai operates 13 shrimp ponds, located next to a vast expanse of neighboring farms that stretch out as far as the eye can see. The checkerboard of ponds is broken up only by power lines, bamboo shacks and the occasional palm tree. Mai's farm stands along the labyrinth of rivers that crisscross the green Delta rice paddies, about eight miles from Soc Trang, the bustling provincial capital. He travels to and from town in a long wooden sampan, hoping to avoid the torrential downpours that are a staple of the tropical summer. In 2002, his first year of business, Mai earned $50,000; as a hog farmer he made $3,000 a year. Many shrimp farmers have operations smaller than Mai's and live on the margins of poverty. Across Vietnam, the per capita income is $480 a year. Mai says his success is the result of a favorable climate and low labor costs, not government subsidies. He pays his workers just $30 a month, in addition to room and board. They live in a building made of tin and palm fronds, sleeping on wooden platforms and hammocks among sacks of “Tom Boy” shrimp food. (“Tom” is Vietnamese for shrimp.) Seven-day workweek Crew members work seven days a week, have virtually no possessions and take a long weekend once every four months. Yet they are happy to be here, away from the rice fields. “This job is not as exhausting as picking rice,” said Thach Kien, who spends all his money on clothing and cigarettes. “And I earn twice as much now as I earned then.” For entertainment, they watch a little television or


kick a soccer ball around a dusty patch of ground between the shrimp ponds. They feed the shrimp three times a day and harvest them once every six months. The business is equipped with modern machinery, but the low overhead allows it to thrive, according to Mai's wife, Lam Thi Nuong. “The U.S. is not right to say we are dumping shrimp,” Nuong said. “And it is irrational to say that we are subsidized by the government. We have to mobilize investment capital by ourselves, just like any businessman.” Nuong's house has almost no furniture, just platform beds with straw mats and no mattresses. The family's $180 monthly budget covers all their household expenses, including food, electricity and gas for their new Ford Escape SUV, the one luxury they have allowed themselves since earning a shrimp windfall. Mai thinks the U.S. government is punishing him and thousands of other Vietnamese shrimp farmers for their success, just as they punished Vietnamese catfish exporters by imposing tariffs last year. Protecting industry “They are just trying to protect their own shrimp industry,” Mai said. “Instead of thinking about the benefit to one small group, the U.S. government should think about the entire American people, who benefit from buying our shrimp at a low price.” Vietnam's catfish exporters found new markets in Europe and Japan after the Americans slapped a tariff on them, and Mai hopes shrimpers can do the same. Vietnam's exports to the United States have boomed in recent years, reaching $467 million in 2003. Shrimp and other seafood products are Vietnam's fourth-biggest export after crude oil, garments and shoes. Almost half of Vietnam's shrimp exports go to the United States. Europe and Japan are also major buyers. Mai thinks of Americans as friends. But when it comes to free trade, he has concluded that the United States government says one thing and does another. “The Vietnamese people have suffered from poverty and war for many years,” Mai said. “We really need the U.S. government to help us.” (Source: San Jose Mercury News (California), August 1, 2004)

8. Brazil To Challenge Proposed U.S. Shrimp Tariffs Brazilian shrimp farmers who tripled production in five years amid booming worldwide demand vowed Thursday to appeal new proposed U.S. tariffs on shrimp imports that could run as high as 67 percent for Latin America's largest country. The Bush administration also proposed imposing lower tariffs on shrimp imports on Ecuador, India and Thailand. American shrimpers claim the four countries have dumped canned and frozen warmwater shrimp and prawns at artificially low prices on the U.S. market. “This is not dumping,” responded Itamar Rocha, president of the Brazilian Shrimp Farmers Association. "What we have are good Brazilian entrepreneurs who identified a market and built businesses to supply the demand." Rocha said the association will soon map out its legal strategy to contest the decision. Brazil's Foreign Ministry said the government will study ways to challenge the proposed tariffs with the 147-nation World Trade Organization. Brazil, like other developing countries where shrimp are grown in manmade lagoons from larvae hatched in laboratories, benefits from low labor costs and a temperate climate. And the industry's heart


in northeastern Brazil near the equator has year-round sunshine and warm temperatures that make for near-perfect shrimp growing conditions. “America can't compete with our region because it doesn't have our conditions,” Rocha said. The association is still assessing what sort of legal challenge it will mount, Rocha said, but Brazilian producers are assuming the U.S. Commerce Department will uphold the preliminary tariff ruling this fall. They will also pressure Brazil's government to bring up the proposed tariffs in ongoing talks between the United States and Brazil to form a 34-nation Free Trade Area of the Americas stretching from Alaska to Argentina. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is under huge pressure to create jobs, and a robust domestic shrimp industry fits into that strategy, Rocha said. The number of Brazilian shrimp farms grew 33 percent last year to 905. Trade negotiators hope to clinch a deal for the FTAA bloc by 2005, but Brazil has already threatened to prevent its creation if the United States refuses to reduce barriers for imports of Latin American agricultural goods. Brazil expects to export 75,000 metric tons of shrimp valued at US$300 million abroad this year, triple the amount sent overseas in 2001. The United States is Brazil's third largest export market, after France and Spain. The imposition of the tariffs would not stop the industry from growing because Brazilian producers will seek out other markets, Rocha said. However, tariffs would make it more difficult for newcomers to compete in the export market with established Brazilian producers. The country's shrimp producers had been betting U.S. presidential elections in November and growing protectionist rhetoric would prompt the Commerce Department to impose tariffs. Contesting the proposed shrimp tariffs before the WTO could take years. The WTO recently ruled that U.S. cotton subsidies artificially lower worldwide prices and hurt farmers Brazil and West Africa, but Brazil's government filed that case in 2002 and the United States is appealing in a process that could last years. Brazil and India are part of the G20 group of developing nations pushing the WTO to more aggressively reduce agricultural trade protections. (Source: The Associated Press State & Local Wire, July 29, 2004)

9. Thai Shrimp Exporters Are Optimistic As Dumping Fines Are Set Relatively Low Thailand's shrimp exporters see a silver lining now that the cloud of speculation over US anti-dumping penalties has lifted, with the low rates levied on Thai shrimp deemed favourable relative to those on shrimp from five other countries. Industry leaders now expect Thailand's shrimp exports to increase substantially by 70 percent next year to 350,000 tonnes from about 230,000 tonnes this year, after the US Department of Commerce late last month announced tariffs ranging from 5.56 percent to 10.25 percent on Thai shrimp.


Washington was responding to complaints from US shrimpers, who said shrimp from the six countries were being sold below cost in the US market. Thailand and the other affected countries contend that it is much cheaper to produce farm-raised shrimp than to catch them at sea. Since the announcement, prices of local fresh shrimp have risen by 15-20 baht per kilogramme, with the price of the black tiger prawns increasing to 175 baht per kilogramme over the last few weeks. Export prices have also increased by 5-10 percent. Pisit Ohmpornnuwat, managing director of C.P. Merchandising Co, a subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF), expressed optimism that orders would shift to Thailand from China and Brazil, which faced relatively higher penalty rates. He said CPF was investing one billion baht this year to raise the production capacity of three processing plants in Rayong and Samut Sakhon from 14,000 tonnes this year to 32,000 next year. CPF forecasts that its revenue from shrimp will double to 12 billion bath this year, while its total sales will rise to 90 billion baht from 83.1 billion last year, according to CEO Adirek Sripratak. Union Frozen Products (UFP) which faces the highest anti-dumping duties of any Thai company, said it was not very worried and pledged to provide accurate information to contest the ruling. Managing director Phongchai Tavanapong said a misunderstanding arose when the company reported its cost per kilogramme and the US authorities used pounds (454 grammes). He said the company had explained the discrepancy through its lawyers and was waiting for US authorities to re-examine the data. Union Frozen Products faces a penalty rate of 10.25 percent and Thai I-Mei Frozen Foods Co Ltd will be taxed at 5.91 percent. Other companies will be taxed at 6.39 percent. US officials will visit Thailand over the next two weeks to to collect more information from Thai exporters in order to determine the final penalty rate, which could apply for as long as five years. Mr Phongchai said that while Thailand appeared to have an edge, it was still difficult to estimate the extent of US shrimp imports from Thailand. One reason is that Thai exporters had delayed committing to new shipments for four months while they awaited Washington's ruling. As well, he said, it was difficult to estimate local shrimp output now that most local shrimp farms were small-scale operators. How well farms are managed in response to demand fluctuations was an important factor, he added. Last year, UFP exported 14,500 tonnes of shrimp, 12,000 of which went to North America, and the remainder to the European Union, Japan and Australia. The company is now looking to other export destinations to reduce its dependence on the US market, while expanding production to cooked products to supply the EU and Canada. Mr Phongchai said the company had invested 50 million baht since the end of last year in new production lines and new processing equipment. Last year, UFP earned about seven billion baht in revenue and expected the total to reach eight billion this year. Exports accounted for 93 percent of all sales. Thiraphong Chansiri, the president of Thai Union Frozen Products Plc, said that despite the low penalty rates imposed by Washington, Thai exporters still felt dissatisfied since they were not guilty of dumping in the first place. He said competition in the US market would remain intense, as the penalty rate on Ecuador was not much higher than the rates on Thai shrimp, while the difference in the rates for India and Thailand was only eight percentage points. “It is not yet clear whether Thailand has an export edge, even though we are subject to the lowest penalty rate. Rather, it will depend on which countries manage their raw material costs the best,” he said.


TUF, a major tuna processor, last year earned 8 percent of its total revenue of 40 billion baht from shrimp exports of 11,000 tonnes, half of which went to the United States. It expects revenue to increase to between 45 billion and 48 billion baht, with shrimp contributing 6-8 percent. Mr Thiraphong said TUF was confident that its shrimp exports would rise at the same rate as last year, as it was now shipping more shrimp to Japan and Australia. (Source: Bangkok Post, Thailand, August 7, 2004, http://www.bangkokpost.com ) 10. Thai Shrimp To Taste Better in US After Anti-Dumping Probe The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has recently announced its preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty investigations on shrimp exports from Brazil, Ecuador, India, Thailand, China, and Vietnam. However, it should be noted that the rates are preliminary and the final rate determinations are scheduled for January 31, 2005. Thai shrimp exporters under investigation have to pay an anti-dumping rate of between 5.9-10.2% while other exporters are subject to an AD rate of 6.39%. This is a positive development for Thai shrimp packers, as average lower AD rate will lift their pricing competitiveness in shrimp export products against other key rivals (China, Vietnam, India, Ecuador, and Brazil) in the US market. This could culminate in a market share gain in the US market, which absorbs more than 50% of total shrimp exports from Thailand. Higher shrimp exports, which generally account for approximately 90% of the shrimp production in the country, should also benefit other shrimp-related industries (shrimp feed/shrimp fry). (Source: Thai Press Reports, August 4, 2004) 11. Imposition Of Tariffs Mixed News For U.S. Shrimpers After 23 days at sea, the Julie Ann docked and unloaded 16,268 pounds of wild shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico. In 1998, that catch would have brought in $45,000. Now it's worth just $26,000. The reason, shrimpers say, is cheap foreign shrimp, much of it raised in ponds and dumped onto the American market at below cost. So on Thursday, the Bush administration announced a preliminary decision to impose tariffs on imported shrimp from four countries: Thailand, Brazil, Ecuador and India. “I hope that shrimpers that brought this case will feel vindicated,” James Jochum, assistant secretary of commerce, said in a conference call. “We found that major exporters of shrimp to this market were selling at less than fair value.” But the news for the Julie Ann's three-man crew and thousands of domestic shrimpers was mixed. The duties announced Thursday ranged from about 3.6 to nearly 68 percent for the four countries. By comparison, their trade association, the Southern Shrimp Alliance, had sought tariffs as high as 349 percent on some shrimp from Brazil. The preliminary ruling means companies in the four countries will start paying the duties as soon as next week. The duty rates could change in a final ruling that is scheduled for December. Still, it likely will be at least six months before shrimpers see any relief. “It will take a little while; there's a lot of [imported and untaxed] inventory out there that has to be sold,” said Sal Versaggi, owner of Versaggi Shrimp Corp. in Tampa, Fla. “Once that is worked off,


then the importers will bring in less product because of the duties, and the market will come more into balance.” The decision is a small victory for the Southern Shrimp Alliance, which represents shrimpers in eight states, including Florida, said Versaggi, the alliance's vice president. While the proposed tariffs are smaller than shrimpers had hoped for, they're better than nothing, he said. Julie Russell, who owns Pelican Point Seafood in Tarpon Springs and the boat that docked there Thursday, said the percentages were far below what she had hoped for, but it's a start. Five years ago, 13 boats would come into Pelican Point's dock and unload, and Russell's family business would sell their shrimp at their shop and to wholesalers up the Eastern Seaboard. Today there are just three boats, including Russell's. Shrimp that once brought $2.15 a pound now go for 80 cents a pound. “If I didn't have this boat, with all the boats that are gone, I wouldn't have the product to support my retail,” she said. It is a trend seen statewide. Ten years ago, 5,000 shrimp boats roamed the Florida waters, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture. Today that number is closer to 2,000. Florida is the nation's third-largest shrimp-producing state, behind Texas and Louisiana. Officials estimate that shrimping accounts for 4,400 jobs in Florida and contributes $97 million annually to the state's economy. Thursday's decision was not the first action the Bush administration has taken on the issue. On July 6, the Commerce Department ruled on similar dumping allegations against China and Vietnam and imposed duties as high as 112 percent. Those countries were studied separately because they are communist. Importers contend that the domestic shrimpers' demise is largely connected to their failure to market their wild shrimp as a niche product. “They're working against the challenges of Mother Nature every day,” said Travis Larkin, vice president of the Seafood Exchange in Miami, which imports about 5 million pounds of shrimp annually from countries including Thailand and Ecuador. “When you go out on the high seas, you're searching for a product that you can't even see where it is. Farm-raised is just more efficient.” Imported shrimp accounts for 88 percent of the U.S. market, state officials say. Although Thursday's rulings included some relatively low duties, foreign shrimp producers and importers still were riled. “These rates should be zero,” said Kenneth Pierce, a Washington attorney who represents the Thai Frozen Foods Association. Pierce said the imposition of the tariffs would stifle trade, and consumers will pay the price. Larkin, the Miami importer, went one step further. While the tariffs will drive up prices, they aren't enough to help U.S. shrimpers. “You can just assume that it's an increase in the cost of doing business and an increase in the cost of product,” he said. “But it's certainly not enough of an increase in price to do anything to help the domestic industry.” New shrimp tariffs Country Average Maximum (in percent) (in percent) Thailand 6.4 10.3 Brazil 36.91 67.8 Ecuador 7.3 9.35


India 14.2 27.49 Source: U.S. Commerce Department NEW TARIFFS ON IMPORTED SHRIMP What Happened: The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a preliminary decision that imported frozen and canned shrimp are being sold at less than fair market value and imposed duties on shrimp from four countries. The tariffs range from about 3.6 percent to nearly 68 percent. THE ISSUE: Cheap shrimp imported from a half-dozen countries - Thailand, Brazil, Ecuador, India, China and Vietnam - have been driving American shrimpers out of business in increasing numbers, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance. In December, the trade group petitioned for the tariffs. WHO'S AFFECTED: The Southern Shrimp Alliance represents about 4,000 shrimpers in Florida and seven other states. As a result of the tariffs, consumers could see slightly higher prices for shrimp in coming months. WHAT'S NEXT: The tariffs go into effect almost immediately, but commerce officials will make a final ruling on Dec. 17. Awash in shrimp The U.S. Department of Commerce has proposed imposing tariffs on shrimp imports from Brazil, Ecuador, India and Thailand, accusing them of dumping canned and frozen warmwater shrimp at artificially low prices on the U.S. market. The ruling came three weeks after the department proposed tariffs on China and Vietnam. In all, the six countries provide about 75 percent of the shrimp Americans eat. Weight and monetary value of shrimp imported into the United States. MEXICO 56-million pounds $294-million ECUADOR 75-million pounds $211.3-million BRAZIL 48-million pounds $96.8-million INDIA 100-million pounds $409-million BANGLADESH


18-million pounds $82.8-million THAILAND 294-million pounds $998-million CHINA 179-million pounds $442-million INDONESIA 48-million pounds $168-million VIETNAM 127-million pounds $595-million PHILIPPINES 3-million pounds $10.9-million OTHER 166-million pounds $453-million Source: Aquaculture Outlook, U. S. Agriculture Department (Source: Alameda Times-Star (Alameda, CA), August 1, 2004; St. Petersburg Times (Florida), July 30, 2004; Scripps Howard News Service, July 30, 2004, http://www.shns.com)

12. Shrimp, Our Favorite Fish, Will Get More Costly After battling up the fish ladder to claim its place as America's favorite seafood in 2001, the lowly shrimp is now embroiled in a bitter trade fight that distributors say will result in a sharp spike in prices for the succulent crustacean. The U.S. Commerce Department last month issued a preliminary ruling agreeing with U.S. shrimpers that some Asian and Latin American countries have been unfairly dumping shrimp at below-cost prices on American markets. The agency began imposing preliminary tariffs ranging from almost 4 percent up to almost 68 percent against companies in Brazil, Ecuador, India, Thailand, China and Vietnam and said it will make a final decision on the issue Dec. 17. Imports from those six countries comprise 73 percent of the shrimp imported into the United States. The Southern Shrimp Alliance, representing shrimp fishermen in Southern and Gulf-coast states, says the Commerce Department's position protects the livelihood of American shrimpers who have seen prices collapse in the last four years.


Shrimp distributors and importers say U.S. shrimpers have won a hollow but costly victory. They portray U.S. shrimpers as just the latest segment of the U.S. economy to feel the economic impact of modernization and new, efficient farming methods. Foreign governments are protesting the tariffs. Shrimp might seem an unlikely battlefield in the trade wars. Throughout most of the 20th century shrimp was an expensive delicacy sometimes appearing on the menus of white tablecloth restaurants, depending on the season. In the 1970s Japanese aquaculture scientists developed new ways of farming shrimp and the World Bank encouraged commercial shrimp farms to proliferate in impoverished areas of Asia and Latin America. Eddie Gordon, president of the Southern Shrimp Alliance that represents 2,000 shrimpers and 180,000 affiliated workers, said the American market felt the full force of these foreign fish farms in 2000 when the volume of imports became so great that the price of shrimp declined sharply. The National Marine Fisheries Service says that while the U.S. harvest of shrimp remained static at 200 million pounds a year, imports almost doubled from 700 million pounds in 1992 to more than 1.2 billion pounds in 2002. “The wholesale prices were what we were getting in the 1960s,” Gordon said, noting the price of shrimp fell from $6.50 a pound in 2000 to less than $3.50 a pound in 2003. U.S. shrimpers, who catch their shrimp in the oceans, were no longer making any money, he said. Wally Stevens, chairman of the American Seafood Distributors Association and an executive at seafood distributor Slade Gorton & Co. in Boston, denied there was any dumping. He said the bumper supplies of imported shrimp were due to the efficiencies of industrialized fish farming, which is revolutionizing the fishing industry just as it has changed how animals are raised for food. “Aquaculture lends itself to better climate conditions, with farms closer to the Equator that can produce multiple crops of shrimp a year,” Stevens said. “The good Lord made it that we can get one crop a year in the United States.” He said the cheaper production costs of farmed shrimp and cheaper overseas labor resulted in lower prices. “That doesn't mean it's illegal or unfair,” he said. “The global realities have hit the seafood industry and they do not have the vision to deal with that.” Stevens said the higher duties imposed on shrimp will be passed along to consumers and the industry is predicting price hikes up to 44 percent when what the distributors call “taxes” are fully imposed. “We're weeding through it right now, but we know who it doesn't benefit, and that is the American consumer,” he said. The shrimpers acknowledge the duties should result in better prices for their catch at the docks, but they contend the distributors could easily absorb most of the increased prices themselves. Gordon said shrimp are unusually profitable for seafood distributors with consumers paying from $10 to $20 for 10 shrimp on a plate with distributors making an estimated $4.2 billion a year from the markup. “They can still make more money from shrimp after the tariffs than they are making from chicken, pork or beef,” Gordon said. He said that even during the flood of imports from 2000 to 2003 that drove down wholesale prices, consumers saw shrimp prices on menus increase 28 percent. “We say prices should not go up at all.” Shrimp overtook tuna in 2001 to become America's favorite seafood item. Per capita consumption of seafood has increased from 12 pounds a year in the 1930s to 16 pounds a year currently. Fishermen will profit from the federal ruling thanks to a new trade provision Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., put in a


2000 bill that requires money collected from anti-dumping duties to be paid to the parties that brought the complaint. (Source: Scripps Howard News Service, August 12, 2004, www.shns.com )

13. Critics: Tariffs won't save U.S. shrimpers The Commerce Department Thursday proposed tariffs on shrimp imported from four more nations in action seen as a victory for U.S. shrimpers, but critics of the ruling said it would do little to solve the problems of the struggling industry. New duties would be imposed on shrimp imported from Brazil, Ecuador, India and Thailand under the preliminary ruling announced in Washington. In July tariffs were proposed against China and Vietnam as part of the same antidumping investigation. The Southern Shrimp Alliance, a coalition of U.S. shrimpers from eight states stretching from the Carolinas to Texas, filed the antidumping petition last December, charging the unfairly priced imported shrimp were ruining their business. Duties could be as high as 68 percent on shrimp from Brazil, 9 percent for Ecuador, 27 percent for India and 10 percent for Thailand. Deposits will be collected as soon as the Commerce ruling is published in the Federal Register. China and Vietnam were the other two exporting nations named in the U.S. shrimpers' anti-dumping petition. The Commerce Department will make a final determination in that case later this year. If the Commerce Department approves the tariffs, the International Trade Commission will then make a ruling on the amount of damage the imports have had on the domestic shrimp industry and issue appropriate orders next year. No one involved in the trade dispute was completely pleased with the latest decision from Washington. The shrimpers had sought higher tariffs on the imported, farm-raised shrimp that competes with the wild shrimp they harvest from U.S. coastal waters. Nearly 90 percent of the shrimp consumed in the United States is imported. “We commend the Department of Commerce for imposing antidumping duties but feel that in certain instances the duties underestimate the seriousness of the violations,” said Eddie Gordon, alliance president. Gordon said the findings confirmed that “unfair trade” has allowed importers to cut their prices 41 percent since 2000 while flooding the U.S. market with a 71-percent increase in imports. He called the importers' actions unfair competition, not efficient production. A major shrimp importer in Miami said there is no dumping by the nations named in the antidumping petition. “This is further evidence of how reckless this process is,” said Travis Larkin, vice president of Seafood Exchange. “It's so haphazard, the way they go about the calculations. The whole thing has become somewhat preposterous.”


The American Seafood Distributors Association, another opponent of the tariffs, argued that imports have helped make shrimp dishes more affordable and the most popular seafood dish in the United States in recent years. Gordon disagrees that consumers are better off, charging that they have seen prices climb despite the low-priced imports. He said consumers paid up to 28 percent more for shrimp in 2003 than they did in 2000, according to the International Trade Commission and Food Beat Inc. The alliance charges that government subsidies have helped developed foreign shrimp production and the U.S. market has been targeted because other nations have tougher food-safety standards, Gordon said. “When poor quality and antibiotic-laced pond-raised shrimp is rejected by other countries, it's diverted here and unloaded at whatever price they can get, often below the cost of production, as Commerce discovered,” he said. The shrimp industry is worth $2.4 billion to the U.S. economy, creating about 70,000 jobs. The alliance represents shrimpers and processors in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. From 2000 to 2003, shrimp imports from the six nations under investigation surged 71 percent, rising 466 million pounds to a record 795 million pounds, while import prices plummeted 32 percent. At the same time, the prices paid to U.S. shrimpers fell by one-third and forced many of them out of business, the alliance said. “U.S. shrimpers are struggling to survive, making under $1 a pound for most of their catch due to dumped shrimp imports. Meanwhile, consumers are paying $10 to $20 for 10 shrimp on a plate,” Gordon said. Larkin, the Miami shrimp importer, said there may be some “rebalancing” in supply after the tariffs but in the end they will not help the shrimpers survive as they hope. “I think the long-term effect is that this will all settle out and the end effect will not be overly noticed in the shrimp market itself,” he said. “Unfortunately for the domestic shrimpers, it will do absolutely nothing to ease their plight. This is not going to change how much shrimp they can find, the challenges of nature, and high diesel-fuel costs.” Larkin said the domestic shrimp industry has done nothing to create what he called “a premium product” that they could market successfully. “They have chosen for the past 20 years, at least, to do nothing but harvest and wait for their customers to come and buy it,” he said. “Anyone that runs any business knows without a marketing plan, without a true sales approach, you're future is limited.” (Source: United Press International, July 29, 2004)

14. Vietnam Seeks Supports In Shrimp Lawsuit From US Congressmen A group of deputies to the National Assembly on August 11 sent an open letter to seek support from several US Congressmen, the Department of Commerce (DoC) and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) for a fair anti-dumping lawsuit against Vietnamese shrimp.


The signatories, from the shrimp-raising zones in Vietnam, sent the letter to 30 US Congressmen in both houses, stressing that Vietnam has never dumped its shrimp on the US market nor has it caused any material damage to US shrimpers. The NA deputies hope that the US Congressmen, Senators and people recognized that there was no evidence that shrimp dumping or any other form of unfair trade had occurred. They asked their US counterparts to take immediate action to influence the DoC and ITC to carry out the rest of their investigations objectively. The letter signing was arranged by the NA's Legislature Research Journal and the non-government organization ActionAid Vietnam. Prior to the legislators' signing of the letter, the National Assembly held a workshop on the lawsuit and participants showed frustration at the DoC's initial conclusions. The organizer hopes to get more signatures from other NA deputies before sending the letter to the US administration. “Vietnamese shrimp farmers and processing businesses have been operating on a free market basis and have received no support or subsidies from their government,” emphasized the parliamentarians in the letter. They explained that Vietnam's shrimp is sold at a competitive price thanks to low production costs and many other favorable conditions. The US Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) should not blame their problems on Vietnamese shrimp farmers. “Therefore, the DoC's decision has proved unfair and groundless,” they said. Representatives from ActionAid, farmers and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) also claimed that Vietnamese farmers received no subsidies, stressing that they had to take out bank loans for their businesses and would go bankrupt if they were unable to sell their products. “The punitive tariffs of as highest as 93.11% imposed on Vietnamese shrimp will affect not only 4 million Vietnamese shrimp farmers but also millions of US consumers,” VASEP Secretary General Nguyen Huu Dzung said. Vietnam in 2003 exported around $ 500 million worth of shrimp products to the US. In related news, Vietnamese farmers and exporters have expressed their positive attitudes to a DoC recent decision to re-examine tariffs on Vietnam's catfish if Vietnamese catfish exporters file a request. The DoC said it would receive requests for re-examination from Vietnamese catfish fillet exporters within August, and would then select which company should be subject to the re-examination, which would last 12 to 18 months. (Source: Vietnam News Briefs, August 12, 2004)

15. US Trade Mission To Inspect Seafood Business In Vietnam A delegation from the US Department of Commerce (DOC) will conduct an inspection on four Vietnamese food processing businesses, who are defendants in an anti-dumping lawsuit against Vietnamese shrimp.


It was informed by Nguyen Van Kich, Chairman of the Shrimp Committee under the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP). The Minh Phu Seafood PTE, the Kim Anh Co. Ltd, the Minh Hai Jostoco, and the Can Tho Camimex will be subject to the US inspection which will last for 2 to 3 weeks. As the case enters its the last stage, the DOC sends a delegation of experienced analysts to examine the information and documents prepared by the defendants. The DOC inspectors will ask the defendants to validate their operations, from the founding of the company to production and marketing. (Source: Asia Pulse, August 27, 2004)

16. DOC Amends Preliminary Ruling In Shrimp Lawsuit The US Department of Commerce (DOC) on August 24 announced adjustments in its preliminary ruling in the shrimp imports anti-dumping case, under which only one Vietnamese shrimp exporter is eligible for lower tariffs. According to the DOC determination, Kien Giang Seafood Import Export Company (KISIMEX) is eligible for a separate tax rate of 16.01% instead of the highest 93.13% rate as it previously determined. The DOC's International Trade Administration (ITA) said the amendment resulted from corrections of ministerial errors. Nguyen Huu Dzung, Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEF) expressed his regret that only one more Vietnamese company would benefit from this tax rate, saying Vietnam hopes more companies will be eligible for such a rate. Although Vietnam's 34 shrimp companies are all “Section A respondents” that may qualify for separate tax rates if they can prove they operate independently of the government, only 18 of them will have the chance to do so. The 16 other firms are not able to prove it and will still be subject to the “country-wide rate” of up to 93.13%. The DOC is expected to release its final determination on November 24. If the ruling is confirmed by the US International Trade Commission, anti-dumping duties will be applied to shrimp products imported from Vietnam and other countries on January 8, 2005. Import duty margins for Vietnam currently still range from 12.11-93.13%. The four Vietnamese obligatory defendants, including the Ca Mau Export-Import Seafood Processing Company (Camiex), Seaprodex Minh Hai, Minh Phu Seafood Processors and Kim Anh Limited Co., were initially subjected to tax rates of 19.60%, 18.68%, 14.89% and 12.11%, respectively, while others faced 93.13%. In an anti-dumping investigation, the DOC determines if a product is being sold in the US at prices below market rates in the country of origin. The percentage below the market rate at which companies allegedly dump their products is the margin of dumping. The greater the dumping margins found, the higher the duties ultimately imposed on a company's shipments to the US market. Under the current system, companies in non-market economy countries are assumed to be controlled by the state and thus subject to extremely high potential duties unless they can prove they are not under government control. Both large and small companies in these countries have the opportunity to


demonstrate that they function independently of government control and therefore qualify for a separate lower rate. In each anti-dumping investigation, certain companies are selected as “Section A respondents” by the DOC to prove their independence. If their independence is confirmed by investigation results, they will receive separate lower tax rates. Companies not selected as “Section A respondents” will not be investigated and therefore would be subject to the high “country-wide” rates. In related news, a DOC delegation on August 27 conducted a two to three week inspection on four Vietnamese seafood processing firms, who are obligatory defendants in an anti-dumping lawsuit against Vietnamese shrimp. The DoC inspectors asked the defendants to validate their operations, from the founding of the company to production and marketing. The DOC will announce the final result after a fact-finding trip to Vietnam. After the inspection, DOC delegation will come to survey Chinese shrimp firms. Vietnam's shrimp exports to the US fell to around 3,300 tons in the first six months of this year, down from 5,000 tons in the same period last year, according to VASEP figures. (Source: Vietnam News Briefs, August 30, 2004) 17. DOC Amends Brazil’s Preliminary Shrimp Dumping Findings The Department of Commerce announced yesterday corrections to ministerial errors that were made in the dumping calculations regarding Empresa de Armazenagem Frigorifica Ltda. (EMPAF), one of the largest Brazilian shrimp exporters. The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) welcomes the amendments to preliminary dumping findings announced on July 28, 2004. SSA identified to the Department of Commerce the miscalculations that otherwise would permit a loophole in the Brazil duties. Upon publication in the Federal Register, EMPAF’s antidumping margin will increase from zero to 12.86 percent. “EMPAF is a large shrimp producing company that dumps shrimp in the United States. The erroneous calculations would have created a loophole for a large shrimp exporter that is violating international trading standards,” said Eddie Gordon, President of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “We are very pleased that the Department of Commerce corrected the miscalculations and prevented further market distortions.” The collection of bonds or cash deposits and suspension of liquidation will be revised to reflect the correction to the miscalculation. (Source: Ms. Deborah Long, Cohesive Communications, Southern Shrimp Alliance, August 25, 2004, [email protected] )

18. US Shrimp Fishing: Call for major overhaul to industry Fisheries investigator says trade protection is not the answer and downsizing and restructuring are the key to survival The US National Marine Fisheries Service report on the US shrimp business suggests the industry needs restructuring, not trade protection or massive subsidies. The study suggested that the 18,000-strong domestic shrimp fleet downsize and shrimpers reorganise into cooperatives and differentiate their products from imported shrimp.


The report was requested by shrimpers to assess problems and offer solutions to an industry that says it has been battered by an invasion of low cost shrimp from Thailand and other producer countries. Unfair trade practices have resulted in a 41-per-cent drop in the price of imported shrimp, endangering the livelihoods of 70,000 people, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance, which represents shrimpers. The government report agreed with the alliance's argument that domestic prices had fallen in recent years because of imports, a trend that many observers see as inevitable as local production falls far short of meeting explosive demand. “This could severely impact the 138,000 jobs and US$9 billion [Bt373 billion] associated with production in the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic states,” it said. But it also offered solutions like downsizing and honing competitiveness. Shrimp buyers welcomed the report. “We are glad these proposals are finally public, and we hope the industry takes to heart the report that they themselves requested,” said Wally Stevens, chairman of the Shrimp Task Force, which represents shrimp buyers like restaurants, distributors and stores. The Shrimp Task Force used the study to bombard the industry with criticism. “They have serious long-term problems that need to be faced directly, including high costs, poor product marketing and sheer over-capacity, like too many boats chasing too few shrimp.” But Stevens admitted the report was not as strong as his group had hoped. “We are concerned that under blatant domestic industry and political pressure, the NMFS has tried to put the best face it can on US shrimpers' problems,” he said. With cheaper shrimp from other countries flooding the US market, imports have tripled since 1980, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Nearly 90 per cent of all shrimp eaten in the US is imported, according to the US International Trade Commission. Prices have fallen 25 per cent since 1997. Last year, the Southern Shrimp Alliance filed a complaint with the US government accusing six countries of dumping shrimp in the American market. Last month the government responded by slapping provisional countervailing duties ranging from 6.4 to 49.1 per cent on shrimp imports from Thailand, India, China, Brazil, Vietnam and Ecuador. Thailand's shrimp was tagged with the lowest rate of the bunch, which many Thai shrimpers consider an opening for the industry to net more business in the US. But Stevens said the industry has benefited from government largesse. The federal government last year paid $35 million to domestic shrimpers in the form of disaster assistance, some of which Stevens said was used to fund their antidumping petition. And earlier this year, Louisiana's government approved $350,000 to help foot the legal bill for this case. Stevens alleged that Mexico has funnelled money to US shrimpers. According to press accounts, the Southern Shrimp Alliance received roughly $1.3 million from the Mexican shrimp industry to support the legal costs of the dumping petition in exchange for leaving Mexico off the list of respondents in the case, he said. (Source: Nation, August 23, 2004, http://www.nationmultimedia.com/ )


19. Perak Govt in Malaysia To Act Against Illegal Prawn Farmers Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali has promised stiff penalties against people who illegally open up mangrove forests for prawn farms especially in the Manjung area, as the state has some of the best sustainably-managed mangrove forests in the world. A committee chaired by state councillor Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir would look into the problem, he said, while urging the relevant authorities to take immediate action to safeguard these national heritage areas. “Some of these areas are permanent reserves, and people who encroach on them may be meted out the maximum penalty, maybe imprisonment,” he told reporters after visiting the Taman Klebang Putra project site. It is believed that some 800 hectares of mangrove forest in Manjung alone have been illegally converted into prawn farms. In another development, Tajol Rosli said the state government plans to build low-cost houses costing between RM42,000 and RM49,000 in addition to the normal unmodified units costing RM35,000. The new units, with modifications built in, would appeal to buyers who shun the lower-cost units because they are too basic, he said. From next year, he added, the state government would also provide a special site on which low-income people like petty traders, who have difficulty getting bank loans, can build their own houses based on a standard plan. (Source: Bernama The Malaysian National News Agency, August 11, 2004)

20. Prawn Farming To Be Promoted In Seven Districts Of Orissa In India The state government today decided to promote prawn cultivation in seven coastal districts within the parameters of the Environment Protection Act and the Supreme Court judgment restricting prawn culture in the coastal regulation zone. A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting, chaired by revenue minister Mr Manmohan Samal, here today. Talking to reporters here, the minister said around 40,000 hectares of government land suitable for prawn cultivation are available in the coastal belt. Out of this, prawn cultivation is already being undertaken over about 10,000 hectares which fetches a revenue of Rs 400 crore per year. Presently, Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the No 1 state in prawn cultivation, followed by Orissa. If the scientific intensive prawn cultivation be taken up in at least 20,000 hectare, it will generate a revenue of over Rs 1000 crore, he said. Mr Samal, however, clarified that the Environment Protection Act, the coastal zone regulation and the Supreme Court direction in S Jagannath versus Union of India case would be taken care of while promoting the prawn cultivation. It may be noted that the Supreme Court had ruled that no acquaculture/shrimp culture industry, shrimp culture ponds shall be constructed within 1,000 metres of sea coast and Chilka lake. Such industry/ponds set up in the prohibited zone shall be demolished. The Supreme Court had also directed that no shrimp culture industry/ponds can be set up set up in the coastal regulation zone which includes seas/bays, estuaries, creeks, rivers and breakwaters. Even establishment of shrimp farms/ponds beyond the coastal regulation zone has to be approved by the Aquaculture Authority of India.


Official sources said the state level Aqua Authority of India, headed by Justice Mr G Ramanujam has so far recommended 2,226 cases involving 6079.37 hectares located beyond the CRZ. Out of these applications, 1,247 cases involving 2904.81 hectares had been approved by the Aquaculture Authority of India. The revenue minister said a high level committee had been constituted comprising secretaries of revenue, fisheries, forest and environment departments to identify the land beyond CRZ for taking up prawn cultivation. The identified land would be leased out to the prawn cultivators, he said adding, that the state government would develop the infrastructure. Small and marginal farmers would be encouraged to take up prawn cultivation in small holdings and they would be provided loan under self-employment schemes. Besides, prawn culture would also be undertaken in clusters, said the minister. District magistrates of Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Ganjam and Khurda as well as senior officials of revenue and fisheries and chief executive officer of Chilka Development Authority and the Marine Products Export Development Authority were present at the meeting. (Source: The Statesman (India), August 24, 2004)

21. Ideal Sites For Giant Freshwater Prawn Culture Identified In The Philippines Mr. Dejarme is an environmental and aquaculture expert in Northern Mindanao. Iligan and Bukidnon have adequate freshwater resources that could be harnessed for aquaculture development, Mr. Dejarme said during a technology forum hosted by the Department of Science and Technology in this city. MSU-Naawan has an ongoing project on giant freshwater prawn hatchery in Naawan, Misamis Oriental. Mr. Dejarme said 16 local government units in Bukidnon have a standing order for 50,000 giant freshwater prawn larvae from MSU-Naawan. For the university's hatchery project on giant freshwater prawn, Mr. Dejarme said 17,000 post larvae were distributed in Sinakaban, Misamis Occidental, and another 17,000 post larvae were distributed in Valencia, Bukidnon. He said the growth characteristics of freshwater prawn in Misamis Occidental and Bukidnon were similar. For the first quarter, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) reported that fishpond production on prawns reached 17.4169 metric tons valued at P4.2 million. Prawn production is supplied to the region's consumers and a small portion shipped to nearby regions with highly urbanized centers such as Cebu City in Central Visayas and Davao City in Southern Mindanao. Although traditionally an agribusiness region due to its vast pineapple and sugar plantations, as well as other high-value crops, Northern Mindanao has been converted into an industrial hub since the 1980s due to its access to low-cost power resources. Despite this development, rural areas in the region have remained predominantly agricultural, producing grains and other commercial crops for the domestic and international markets. Aquaculture, however, has yet to receive adequate interest among agribusiness investors in the region. BFAR has launched programs of late to improve aquaculture output in the region, including coastal areas which have been the subject of intervention under the fishery resource development program, an initiative funded by a loan from the Asian Development Bank. The program promotes a fishery development that is environment- friendly and within the concept of sustainable development.


Meanwhile, fruit and vegetable growers in Western Mindanao are organizing themselves as producer associations to provide high quality goods for both domestic and foreign markets. Inspired by the success of their Northern and Southern Mindanao counterparts, western growers are keen to learn best practices and post harvest technologies that will help them achieve higher prices for quality produce. Created during the recent first Regional Fruits and Vegetable Congress in Zamboanga City, the interim board for the Western Mindanao Vegetable Council is set to take the lead in this organizational effort. Interim chairman Jesus Jamolod said he and his colleagues are working double time to catch up with regional counterparts. Dante Sarraga, Jr., trustee of the Northern Mindanao Vegetable Producers Association, Inc. (NorMinVeggies), said their association, as well as other industry participants, are helping Western Mindanao growers strengthen their organization to improve their competitiveness and that of Mindanao as a whole. Northern Mindanao producers have been sharing their technology and experience with their southern and western counterparts. “We need to solidify our ranks and work together to be efficient in producing and marketing with the aim of exporting Mindanao vegetables,” Mr. Sarraga said. NorMinVeggies has helped farmers consolidate quality produce and increase sales of high-value produce such as lettuce, broccoli, and sweet corn to institutional buyers in Manila. For the past two years, NorminVeggies has been shipping vegetables by sea in refrigerated vans rather than by air resulting in a huge reduction in transport costs. It has also implemented a program to consolidate fresh produce from various farmer-members. This success is being replicated by the Vegetable Industry Council of Southern Mindanao. Another producer association which is helping Western Mindanao growers is the Mindanao Fruit Industry Development Council (MinFruit). MinFruit executive director Benjamin Roy points out that organized producer associations can “share technologies and improve productivity. Appropriate post harvest also minimize losses”. Mr. Jamolod said Western Mindanao, the main producer of seaweed, can help improve the quality and volume of Mindanao vegetable and fruit exports. Areas like La Paz, Zamboanga City are suited to high value crops like carrots, lettuce, broccoli and cabbage. The region also produces banana, mango, durian, and lanzones. The three-day Congress was attended by over 1 00 fruit and vegetable farmers, technical experts, and agricultural input suppliers. (Source: BusinessWorld (Philippines), August 6, 2004)

22. National Plan For Fish, Shrimp Development Soon: Pakistan The working committee set up by the Federal Minister of Commerce under the Export Development Fund has started its operation with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) as a secretariat to lay down a national plan for fish and shrimp development in Pakistan. The committee met here on Friday under the Chairmanship of Mr. Tariq Ikram, Minister of State/Chairman, Export Promotion Bureau at SMEDA head office. The meeting was also attended by Mr. Shahab Khawaja, Chief Executive Officer and Syed Anwar Kidwai, General Manager (Outreach), SMEDA and a number of the senior officials from fisheries related organizations. Chairman EPB, in his address, highlighted the aims and objectives of the national plan to be chalked out by the government for fish and shrimp development. He urged to involve all government departments related to the inland and marine fisheries at federal as well as the provincial level.


Reviewing a list of the studies conducted in Pakistan so far on the fish and shrimp development, Chairman EPB advised the Committee to update the data by having information also from NWFP and the AJK. Mr. Tariq Ikram said that government had allowed hiring the services of world's the best consultants for this project. The World Bank has agreed to finance the foreign consultants fees, he said and advised SMEDA to initiate communication with Info-fish and NACA, the most authentic international constancy firms available in this area. According to a study conducted by SMEDA, Pakistan has a coastal line of over 1100 kilometers whose 70 percent part belongs to Baluchistan and rest is situated in Sind. Marine fisheries sector is the source of employment for the 300,000 fishermen and 400, 000 workers in the ancillary industries both in Sind and Baluchistan. The world is producing about three million tons of Shrimps every year in various types and species out of which around 50 percent come from the farms. Thailand, Ecuador, Indonesia, China, India, Vietnam and Bangladesh are the major producers of farmed shrimp. Where as, the main buyers are USA, Japan, Gulf and European Union countries. The report revealed that the stock of shrimps in our Sea was going to reduce with the passage of time, and in order to meet the increasing demand, the Shrimps being caught recently were the Mangroves with small eye nets which is said to be very dangerous for Echo system. Catering to the future needs of Shrimps, our neighboring countries like India, Bangladesh and Iran have successfully entered into the field of Shrimp farming. But, Pakistan despite having an ideal land for Shrimp farming is a bit late in this area, the report added. It is hoped that with implementation of a radical Plan for Fish and Shrimp development, Pakistan would be able to fill in this gap. (Source: The Pakistan Newswire, August 6, 2004) 23. Vietnamese Govt To invest US$320 Mln in Aquaculture In response to the decline in aquatic products and resources, the Ministry of Fisheries will invest VND5 trillion (US$320 million) to restore and replenish sea, brackish and fresh water livestock. Deputy Minister of Fisheries Nguyen Viet Thang said VND1.8 trillion will come from the State budget, and the remainder from other economic sectors, including foreign investors. Under the programme, between now and 2010, the fisheries industry will produce 35 billion baby tiger shrimps, more than 500 million baby crustaceans, 11 billion baby molluscs, 400 million high-value sea fries, and 6,000 tonnes of abalone, algae and sea weed. The industry will also supply more than 3.5 billion baby green-clawed prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii), 700 million baby catfish, more than 500 million baby tilapia, and more than 12 billion brackish and fresh water fries to fish rearing farms in different parts of the country. The money will also be used to upgrade and expand the national and regional water livestock nurseries, especially those in poor coastal and mountainous areas. In addition, the programme will help nurseries improve their production capacities. The first priorities will be to develop high-yield local stocks, create hybridised fish and shrimp stocks suitable for local climates and resistant to animal diseases, and ensure a stable supply of produce for local farmers. Nurseries will be equipped with advanced facilities to produce high quality feed, such as larva and artemia, for new-born fish and shrimp. The products will have to meet international quarantine and health standards.


The programme will also grant short and medium-term soft loans for fish and shrimp breeders. Viet Nam boasts 4,800 centres that produce baby tiger shrimp, and it has another 400 fries nurseries. In the first half of this year, the centers turned out 12 billion baby shrimp and 6 billion fries, as well as 2 billion baby catfish, to meet the growing aquaculture demands in the Cuu Long (Mekong) and Hong (Red) River delta regions, coastal provinces, and other parts of the country. In addition to the seafood consumed by foreign customers, such as catfish, abalone, giant prawns and tiger shrimp, the fisheries industry will also focus on exotic, high quality breeds, such as pollack tench, black pike, mud carp, giant goby and tilapia. Crustaceans and molluscs, such as squid, lobsters, snails, fluget giant snails, clams, mussels, oysters, and sea crabs, also bring in a considerable export revenue. The deputy minister said further investment should focus on zoning areas for livestock nurseries and providing breeders with timely information on relevant technology, as well as domestic and international markets. “Aquaculture must coincide with efforts to protect natural seafood resources for sustainable development,” Thang said. To this end, the Government issued directives and regulations for fishing fleets and fishermen. Tight bans were placed on the use of electronic fishing tools, explosives and seine nets in coastal areas and along rivers. Fishermen are encouraged to act responsibly in their harvest of sea stocks; to develop off-shore fishing fleets; and to avoid netting fish and shrimp during their spawning stages. (Source: Asia Pulse, August 4, 2004) 24. Mekong Delta Focuses On Aquaculture The Vietnamese Government has set a target of expanding the Mekong Delta's aquaculture area to around 700,000 hectares with an output of 1.7 million tons and export earnings of around $ 1.5 billion by 2005. The delta, is forecast to net 1.8 million tons of aquatic products including 250,000 tons of shrimp, making up 60% of the country's total aquatic output by 2005, becoming the biggest producer in Vietnam. The output is expected to rise to 2 million tons including 400,000 tons of shrimp, or 53% of the total, by 2010. Kien Giang, Ca Mau, An Giang, Ben Tre and Soc Trang provinces will be the main producers. To achieve the targets, Mekong Delta provinces have been carrying out 65 medium and large-scale projects on infrastructure development, covering the construction of irrigation, dykes, sewage and pumping station networks. Worthy of note is the 35,000 hectare shrimp-rice project in Bac Lieu province, a 12,500 hectare farm in Tra Vinh province and an 11,000 hectare project in Soc Trang province. The southernmost province of Ca Mau, however, leads the pack with a total shrimp raising area of around 220,000 hectares.


The delta will build 11 more fishing ports in the provinces of Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, Tien Giang, Ben Tre and Tra Vinh. The biggest port, located in Ben Tre province, is capable of accommodating fishing vessels of up to 200,000 tons. The Mekong Delta's aquatic product processing establishments have a combined capacity of 250,000 tons a year, processing 85% of the region's exported aquatic produce. It has built four new processing plants in An Giang, Tra Vinh and has upgraded seven others in Vinh Long, Can Tho and Bac Lieu provinces. There are also dozens of small and large-scale projects to expand 14 refrigeration, fishing equipment, fish and shrimp feed factories in the delta. The region earned $ 2.5 billion from aquaculture exports in the 1996-2000 period, making up 52% of the country's total export value. It grossed an annual export turnover of $ 500-700 million during the 2001 - 2003 period. (Source: Vietnam News Briefs, August 2, 2004)

25. Vietnamese Experts Fine-tune Shrimp Breeding Scientists from the Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations and Soc Trang VITEDI have succeeded in breeding high-quality shrimp at a rate of 20 tonnes per hectare. Micro-organic farming technique, called VITEDI, was used by the joint-stock company, Soc Trang VITEDI, to breed shrimp in the Mekong Delta region, where aquaculture farming has mushroomed over the last few years. VITEDI is a closed process which uses superior shrimp breeds and micro-biofood, hygienic ponds, and water drainage and waste treatment facilities. Nguyen Phuc Giac Hai, an expert from the Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations, said VITEDI used micro-organisms like Enzym Eco-Balance EB 02 and micro-biofoods like MBF 02 in shrimp breeding. "The technique disintegrates toxic chemicals in water and creates an ideal condition for the growth of shrimp. Micro-biofood increases the resistance of shrimps to diseases, reducing the risk of epidemics," Hai said. “Both are biological and organic products and do not use chemicals or other antibiotic substances,” he said. The VITEDI experiment began in 2000 in a limited area of the Aquaculture and Processing Company (SEA Co) of the Soc Trang VITEDI. One year later, the company bred shrimp in 60ha with output averaging between 16-20 tonnes per ha and quality meeting export standards. At present, Soc Trang VITEDI is breeding shrimp using the micro-organism technology in 130ha. “The advanced shrimp breeding technology has ensured high output and quality and at present we are producing 20 tonnes per hectare,” says Luu Quoc Viet, director of SEA Co. “The VITEDI technology has opened up the potential of the shrimp industry, and will influence breeding, processing and exports in the years to come,” he said. To make full use of locally available resources, the company will process Enzym Eco-Balance EB 02 and MBF 02 at workshops in the province. The company is also meeting hygienic and environmental standards, he said. In the future, the company will use advanced technologies and turn Mekong Delta region into a key shrimp breeding zone, he added. Luu Thong Nhat, director of Soc Trang VITEDI, said in neighbouring provinces epidemics had killed and damaged large shrimp areas, but the company's shrimp area, covering approximately 700,000sq.m, was still safe. “There has been a three-fold increase in output using this technology


compared to the common method,” Nhat said. “The shrimp quality and appearance are good. And testing has shown no trace of chemicals in the meat,” he said. At a seminar on shrimp breeding using VITEDI held in Soc Trang Province last week, Professor Vu Tuyen Hoang, president of Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations said the technology will soon become popular and spread in the region. (Source: Asia Pulse, August 6, 2004)

26. Vietnamese Shrimp to Meet International Hygiene Standards The Ministry of Fisheries and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) are promoting several projects to manage shrimp farms that meet international hygiene standards. Accordingly, a center to breed black tiger shrimps and to safeguard the quality of breeders is being established, along with a trade center in central Ninh Thuan province With investment capital of VND33 billion ($ 2.1 million), the center, providing 10 billion black tiger shrimps for the local market each year, will supply its first batch of breeding stock this year. In southern Ben Tre Province, another project for shrimp farming of an international standard is being implemented on a trial basis. Meanwhile, several Mekong Delta provinces have founded safe shrimp farm areas using the rice-shrimp, shrimp-forest, and ecological shrimp farming models. Ca Mau province currently has 5,000 hectares of shrimp farms applying environmentally friendly breeding methods. Bac Lieu province also has 10,000 hectares under of shrimp farms employing intensive breeding methods. (Source: Vietnam News Briefs, July 30, 2004)

Prepared by NACA for the Consortium on Shrimp Farming and the Environment.

Documents

SHRIMP MEDIA MONITORING August 2004library.enaca.org/Shrimp/Newsletter_August_2004.pdf · 19. Perak Govt in Malaysia To Act Against Illegal Prawn Farmers 20. Prawn Farming To Be Promoted