Manoj Sharma, a veteran of India's shrimp farming sector, revealed that his production of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) has doubled in 2022, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for Penaeus vannamei to make a profit.
First, India: Penaeus vannamei is difficult to profit, and Penaeus monodon is a new profit point.
Speaking at the Infofish World Shrimp Trade Conference, Manoj Sharma said he had great success using 40 ponds for the cultivation of Penaeus monodon in 2021. So this year, he rolled it out to 200 ponds.
He said he found that it takes 100 days for specific pathogen-free (SPF) penaeus monodon to reach 30 grams and another 30 days to reach 50-55 grams. moreover
According to Sharma, the image below shows the effect of SPF p. vandalism.
Manoj Sharma said: "At present, many farmers in India are unable to make a profit from Penaeus vannamei. Especially in the summer (April to June), this year many farmed Penaeus vannamei are dying, and the survival rate is declining, which is also too difficult. As a farmer, why don't we change? It is often questioned where is the market for Penaeus monodon. But I don't make an effort to sell what I've farmed, and all of my ponds now have pentaeusons on pre-sale. ”
"At present, the shrimp farming industry in India is now facing many difficulties, from leukoplakia to exceeding the "carrying capacity" of ponds, resulting in the death of shrimp. A key factor in the low profitability of Penaeus vannamei culture is the decline in success or survival rates. ”
Manoj Sharma warned: "As a farmer, this scares me very much. While India now produces close to 1 million tonnes, the success rate is less than 50 percent. In addition, diseases lead to slow growth rates, which pushes up feed conversion rates and reduces farming success rates. Our biggest problem at the moment is the carrying capacity of the culture system. ”
Then, since the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers have also faced rising energy, feed and labor costs, in addition to increasing global competition.
"Energy costs are up 15-20 percent and feed is up more than 20 percent, but the cost of shrimp fry is really stable, which surprises me. But producing shrimp fry at an effective level is very challenging. If farmers survive, the industry as a whole survives, but sooner or later all these problems will overwhelm primary producers (farmers). ”
To improve operational efficiency, Manoj Sharma launched its own indoor farming system in 2020. Now, his own "multi-stage" farming system, which has seen a 16% drop in production costs (in US dollar terms), he claims:
The system rears shrimp in a "biosafe" indoor farmer system for 40 days and then reaches the size of 40-50 shrimp per kilogram in a total of 70-80 days. He said that the time to produce a shrimp is shortened. This means that the production is doubled, and the system can also have shrimp for sale in the winter, thus ensuring better prices.
"For me,"
Second, we must open up new markets
Manoj Sharma has previously talked about the importance of finding alternative markets outside of the traditional shrimp market (the U.S. and Chinese markets).
"The global market is so tough, especially because of food safety and certification, we can't get into some markets, so now a lot of farmers are struggling to make a profit. The Indian market can currently consume 120 million tons of freshwater fish, so why can't we just consume 1 million tons of shrimp? ”
In 2019, Manoj Sharma launched his "Zhen Galala" concept restaurant, a restaurant that focuses on shrimp dishes. Unfortunately, within 6 months, the novel coronavirus lockdown forced it to close. Now reopened, the 60-seat restaurant serves 45 traditional shrimp dishes designed to promote local and international shrimp dishes.
Manoj Sharma said: "Now, I am happy to see that every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, customers outside have to queue for an hour. In addition, I started a takeaway market, where the restaurant currently retails fresh or frozen Penaeus vannamei or Penaeus monodon. “