Malaysia targets marine shrimp production to hit 214,000 metric tonnes worth RM6.5 billion by 2020 despite a decline in output in 2011, said Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar.
“The industry is facing a serious challenge from Early Mortality Syndrome, which is causing huge losses to producers in the region including China, Vietnam and Thailand.
“The losses are being felt not just by breeders but also by hatcheries, feed suppliers and other support industries,” he said when opening the 2013 National Shrimp Seminar here Tuesday.
Joint research and development by the Department of Fisheries Malaysia, local and regional research institutions and private firms has alleviated the problem with better farm management and new technologies, he said.
“The ministry urges industry players to focus on genetics and developing local pathogen-free hatchlings,” he said.
Noh said under the sixth Entry Point Project (EPP6) of the Economic Transformation Programme, shrimp production is envisaged to contribute RM1.2 billion to the Gross National Income and create 12,000 jobs between 2010 and 2020.
The ministry has also designed a comprehensive traceability scheme from hatchery to farm and processing plant to enable the Fisheries Department to certify the products for export are original, he said.
At the one-day seminar, the department signed a memorandum of understanding with aquaculture firms Blue Archipelago Bhd and Aquagrow Corporation Sdn Bhd.
2013 BERNAMA