Shrimp production in Peru fell from 45,184 MT 2022 to 39,748 MT 2023. Between January and May 2024, did not exceed 5,146 MT. Photo: SNA/La Republica

Peruvian white shrimp in crisis: national production would fall by half in 2024

PERU
Friday, August 02, 2024, 06:50 (GMT + 9)

The following is an excerpt from an article published by La Republica:

Only 21,000 MT, its lowest level in almost a decade. Aquaculture harvest has been affected by falling international prices and low access to publicly supported financing. The Tumbes white shrimp could be living its last days.

The Peruvian white shrimp aquaculture harvest would record its worst performance this year since 2016 and a drop of -46.63% compared to the previous season, reported the National Aquaculture Society (SNA). They are not calculated beyond 21,000 MT in 2024.

The cultivation of Litopenaeus vannamei from Tumbes represents 90% of national production. It is one of the main permanent productive activities of the year, which is why it generates 98% of the region's exports, formal employability, and gender inclusion throughout its value chain.

However, the global crisis in the sector, driven by the fall in international prices, has caused a large part of the companies to stop operating from 2023, and the situation has worsened in the first three months of the year 2024.

Added to the fact that the activity is seen as high risk - which is why it does not easily access state-guaranteed credit from Impulso MyPerú -, an increase in input prices and a drop in global demand, has incurred a new equilibrium point in production costs.

White shrimp farm in Tumbes (Photo: SNA)

For this reason, the SNA points out that "working capital is required to optimize production costs with the implementation of innovation in crop management protocols." Otherwise, it could be the last years of the Peruvian white shrimp.

“Other producing countries in Central America, Ecuador, India, China or Thailand, have established budgets from the public sector to support the aquaculture shrimp value chain [...] A loss of economic dynamism and formal employability is being generated throughout the value chain, mainly in the Tumbes region,” he said in a statement. [continues...]

Author: Esteban Salazar | Read the full article by clicking the link here

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