SOUTH KOREA: By August 2022, 815,679 tons of seafood were imported, and 6,961 tons of frozen white leg shrimp accounted for 0.85%.

In the case of 2021 of the previous year, 9,971 tons were imported, accounting for 1.49% of the 670,790 tons.

Imports of frozen white leg shrimp in August were 788 tons, down 4% from 819 tons in the previous year, and the accumulated amount was 6,961 tons, a 30% decrease from 9,971 tons in the same period last year.

From 2017 to 2022, the average import volume for August was 1,322 tons, and the import volume of frozen whiteleg shrimp in six years was the highest at 14,479 tons in 2019 and the lowest at 6,961 tons in 2022.

Ecuador, a major exporter of frozen whiteleg shrimp, recorded 4,075 tons, Malaysia 1,439 tons, Peru 944 tons, Vietnam 444 tons, Saudi Arabia 58 tons, and Guinea 1 ton. Highest prices by origin :  Ecuador USD 6.71/Kg, Malaysia USD 7.25/Kg, Peru USD 7.44/Kg and Saudi Arabia USD 5.31/Kg recorded the lowest unit price.

Frozen whiteleg shrimp imports amounted to USD 5.16 million, a decrease of 9% from USD 5.69 million in the previous year, and the cumulative import amount until August was USD 48.77 million, a decrease of 20% from USD 60.89 million in the previous year.

The average unit import price is USD 6.55/Kg, which is 5.7% lower than USD 6.95/Kg in the same period of the previous year.

Source : Union Forsea Corp.

SRI LANKA: Northern Sri Lankan fishermen see government’s thrust on commercial aquaculture as latest threat to their livelihoods and land.

Citing media reports of a Chinese firm investing in a sea cucumber farm in Pungudutivu, off Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka, local fishermen have raised concern over its potential impact on their livelihoods, marine ecosystem, and land. 

“We recognise the need for investment in our war-affected region, but the sea cucumber farms are mainly for exports. They will only bring more harm than benefit for those of us living here,” said Annalingam Annarasa, President of the Jaffna Fisheries Federation.  The commercial ventures, they fear, could adversely affect the local marine ecology on which their livelihoods rely.

Small-scale artisanal fishermen like him see the government’s recent push on aquaculture as the latest blow to their livelihoods, already precarious due to the relentless bottom-trawling by Indian fishermen in their seas for years, and the drastic, nearly four-fold increase in kerosene price last month.

Source: www.thehindu.com(https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/chinese-investment-in-sea-cucumber-farm-sparks-concerns-among-northern-sri-lankan-fishermen)

BANGLADESH: A joint cooperation aimed at investing six million euros to develop sustainable growth of Bangladesh’s aquaculture sector has formally been launched.

Birgitta Tazelaar, deputy director-general for International Cooperation at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signed the agreement on behalf of the Netherlands and Abu Lutfe Fazle Rahim Khan, director of Aftab Bahumukhi Farms and Mahmud Riyad, general manager, Operations, Gemini Seafood, signed on behalf of the respective firm.

The partnership consisted of Aftab Bahumukhi Farms, Gemini Sea Food, Nutreco, Viqon, LightCastle Partners, and Larive International.

The parties will establish three centres of excellence in Sylhet, Khulna and Cox’s Bazar to introduce and demonstrate different types of improved and more sustainable techniques for fish breeding and cultivation.

Moreover, research and trials with on-farm products such as feed additives, aqua specialties and antibiotic replacers will be conducted and technical assistance to fish breeders and farmers will be provided.

In addition, the partnership will upgrade an aqua feed line in Dhaka to increase the availability of domestically produced specialised fish feed.

The four-year cooperation, titled ‘FoodTechBangladesh’, co-financed by the Dutch Embassy in Bangladesh, will contribute to improving the technical and commercial performance of fish breeders and farmers in Bangladesh by demonstrating best practices and transferring know-how.

Over 1,600 local fish breeders and farmers will receive training at centres of excellence and via online courses.

In addition, the partnership will reduce post-harvest losses by connecting fish breeders and farmers directly to end markets.

Addressing on the occasion, Anne van Leeuwen, ambassador of the Netherlands in Bangladesh, said, ‘The Dutch Embassy in Bangladesh supports the development of more sustainable agri-food value chains in Bangladesh and encourages Dutch companies to locally invest together with local stakeholders’.

‘We are glad that via this cooperation we are to contribute to increased food security, more sustainable water usage and strengthen the cooperation between the Dutch and Bangladeshi private sector’.

Matthias Brienen, director of Larive International, said: ‘Strengthening the aquaculture sector in Bangladesh requires an increase in domestic productivity in an environmentally and socially responsible way. This can be realised via introducing technologies developed in the Netherlands’.

FoodTechBangladesh is initiated and led by Netherlands-based Larive International in close collaboration with its Bangladesh-based affiliate LightCastle Partners.

Source: www.seafood.media/New Age