Analysis of potential market for prawn

Date

1996

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Mojica, Loida E.

Abstract

Prawn production in the Philippines was not a major activity way back in 1960's; it was only a secondary crop to milkfish. In 1965, the country made a trial shipment of about 1,000 pounds of frozen prawns to New York and United States. Since then, the country has been exporting the commodity to other countries, particularly Japan. Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia are some of the major competitors of the Philippines. Thailand remains the third major producer of the commodity since 1992. This is attributed to the support from the government like giving incentives on feeds, cold storage facilities, and assistance in the scientific culture of the commodity. Their processing plants as well equipped with the most modern machinery that ensure the quality of the bulk. World demand for the commodity continued to increase up to the present time. Japan, United States, France and Hongkong are the major importers of the commodity. Supplies of the commodity are being affected by supply and survival rate of the fry, and disease problems. Demand, on the other hand, is being affected by species of the fry, brand names, packaging and consistency of supplies. Philippine prawns are primarily produced for export because of favorable price in the export market. Most of the prawns sold to the local market are export rejects due to strict export quality control. Before exportation, prawns are first soaked in clean cold water, and are graded according to product classification (whole, shelled or headless, and shelled). The commodity is further graded according to size, the graded bulk is then packed and blast frozen according to customers specification. To ensure good quality, the Bureau of Fish and Aquatic Resources established quality requirements based on the features discussed in FAO 117. The Philippine top five exporters of prawn are the HJR International Corporation, AA Export and Import Corp., San Miguel Corp., SMI Fish Industries Incorporated, and the Ocean Light Export/ Import. They registered a total of 2.7 million kilograms of exported frozen prawns in 1994. For the whole of 1994, aggregate exports of 21.52 million net kilograms earned US 29.32 million. This represents amount 8% for the country growth from 1993 exports. However, the industry's growth is being hindered by high costs of feeds and other inputs, Mount Pinatubo eruption, Agrarian Reform related problems, and peace and order situation of the country. Exportation problems include limited access to market information and unstable foreign exchange policy. If this will be properly addressed, growth of the industry will be expected and the commodity will continue to be one of the major dollar earners on fish products.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

LG 993 1996 M17 B36

Document Type

Thesis

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