The lifting of the ban on the importation and culture of Pacific white shrimp or Peneaus vannamei in the Philippines will boost the country's dwindling shrimp production, and increase consumption of shrimps that will now be affordable to more Filipinos, industry leader Roberto Gatuslao said yesterday.

Gatuslao, president of the Philippine Shrimp Industry Association, and other industry officials witnessed last Monday the signing of Fisheries Administrative Order 207 by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap to signal the lifting of the ban.

"It will open white shrimp for culture (in the country) and production will go up. If production is good, the ceiling price is low, making shrimp more affordable. The target is to have more Filipinos eat shrimp," Gatuslao told the DAILY STAR.

He said that production cost for white shrimp is much lower, at P100 to P100 per kilo, compared to that of Peneaus monodon or black tiger prawn, which is as high as P200 to P220. Black tiger prawn is very expensive, he said, at P350 per kilo while white shrimps can be sold at only P200 per kilo.

Gatuslao said white shrimps will be bigger in size than black tiger prawn since the broodstocks of Peneaus vannamei will come from the US.

"We don't breed it here, so there's low risk in disease as long as it will be cultured properly," he said.

The Department of Agriculture reported that Yap signed FAO 225, which amended Fisheries Administrative Order No. 207, after field verification trials of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources show the successful conduct of breeding and grow-out experiments of the P. vannamei shrimp in the country.

Gatuslao said the BFAR will also monitor the shipment of broodstocks to ensure that these are authentic, and accredit hatcheries.

The DA said that industry leaders believe the lifting of the ban will help the Philippines regain in five years its previous status as a global leader in shrimp production.

The Philippines, which previously ranked third, slid to 10th place in 2003, after being overtaken by Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

BFAR estimates indicate that the entry of Pacific white shrimp into the country will raise earnings of shrimp growers from last year's P4 billion to P6 billion in 2007, with production projected of four metric tons per hectare or a total of 20,520 MTs.

In 2006, the industry generated P3 billion in exports and P1 billion in domestic sales.*NLG

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