Thailand Shrimp Market Update : April 3, 2017
This year small sizes, i.e. CPTO 71/90 and smaller and HLSO/EZP 61/70 and smaller will be in short supply from all origins including Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and India according to white shrimp suppliers.
Typically, Thailand has produced large volumes of these smaller sizes but this year farmers and white shrimp suppliers in all producing origins, including Thailand will be focusing on larger sizes.
These sizes require raw material smaller than HOSO 100 pcs/kg and only a limited number of farmers will target this size. Thailand farmers who in the past focused on these smaller sizes are now becoming more and more successful at growing out to larger sizes at better profits so there is obviously less interest in harvesting the smaller sizes.
Farmers will be targeting minimum sizes of 65-75 pcs/kg HOSO which only require a few weeks longer than 100 pcs/kg to grow out. Tonnage and thus profits are higher with the larger shrimp so the incentive is there to grow out further.
This year white shrimp suppliers are expecting that many more farmers will only be harvesting small sizes if forced to do so by circumstances beyond their control, i.e. disease, weather, etc.
Thailand factories are also less keen to process smaller sizes as more labour is required, production is slowed down and thus overhead costs increased. All Thailand processors peel within their own facilities now so smaller sizes have become more of a challenge.