GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Shrimp industry stakeholders here and in nearby Sarangani province are pushing for the development of more production areas to cope with the expanding markets.
Roger Rivera, past president of the SarGen Shrimp Stakeholders Association Inc., said Thursday that efforts are underway for the expansion of shrimp farms in viable sites along the coastal areas.
Rivera said the move aims to further increase the area’s shrimp production, which accounts for about 60 percent of shrimp supplies in the country.
“We supply around 10 tons daily to Metro Manila alone,” he said.
According to industry records, Sarangani currently hosts around 800 hectares of shrimp farms while this city has some 50 hectares.
These farms are operated by at least 35 growers and companies, among them the RD Corporation, Alsons Aquaculture Corporation, SAFI and Eastern Aqua Ventures.
In Sarangani, the shrimp farms are located in the coastal areas of the municipalities Alabel, Glan, Malapatan, Maasim, Kiamba and Maitum.
The area’s shrimp production grew to around 12,000 metric tons (MT) this year from 8,000 MT in 2016. It is targeted to increase to around 25,000 MT in the next three years.
Aside from topping the country’s shrimp production, Rivera said the area’s farms are currently leading the industry in terms of technology.
He said growers from Luzon and Visayas frequent local shrimp farms to study their adopted production and processing technologies.
Rivera, who chairs the RDEX Foods here, said local shrimp farms are primarily backed by several feed mills and production or processing plants.
Sarangani and this city are currently hosting the two-day 2nd Mindanao Shrimp Summit at the SM Trade Hall here.
The summit, which is joined by around 600 delegates, focuses on discussions of various issues and concerns, as well as strategies to help sustain the development of the industry. (PNA)
