Shrimp seed hatcheries upbeat on better times from Dec

The 200-odd shrimp seed hatcheries in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, who had to limit their shrimp seed production to around 30 to 40 per cent of their capacity, anticipate the demand for seeds to rise from December.

Of the total 14-billion shrimp seed capacity in the country, the hatcheries in Andhra Pradesh account for over 10 billion seeds a year. Out of the total 300 hatcheries in the country, around 200 shrimp seed hatcheries are located in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh.

"Several aqua farmers did not get into shrimp culture this year due to various reasons such as uncertainty on the anti-dumping duty imposed by the US government for the last one year, fall in black tiger (BT) shrimp exports to Japan and scarcity of fresh water resources particularly in Krishna, Guntur and Nellore districts. Owing to these reasons, the shrimp seed consumption in the state fell between 40 per cent and 50 per cent when compared to last season," M Sudarshan Swamy, president of the All India Shrimp Hatcheries Association, told Business Standard.

The aqua farmers in the state are expected to start shrimp culture from January 2005 onwards. The hatcheries foresee a good season ahead. Adding to their optimism is the end of the uncertainty on the anti-dumping duty by the US government and expectations of reduction in the current duty at 14.5 per cent.

This apart two more positive aspects have been the abundant availability of fresh water resources, due to the recent rains, and Japan slowly increasing its shrimp imports. As the farmers are gearing up for shrimp cultivation, the shrimp hatchery operators also expect a good business in the next season, Swamy said.

Following less offtake from the farmers, the shrimp seed prices also fell by about 30 per cent during this season as compared to the last season.

"Last season, we sold shrimp seeds at 35-40 paise per seed. But this season, due to lack of demand, hatchery owners sold the seeds at 25 paise per seed," he said.