The conference organizers of the TUNA 2010 conference in Bangkok have decided to postpone the event, scheduled for May 20-22, until later in the year.

Infofish said: Considering the situation prevailing in the vicinity of the conference venue in Bangkok and in consultation with the Thai Authorities, we have decided to reschedule TUNA 2010 Conference & Exhibition to October 2010, latest. New dates will be notified shortly.

“We regret any inconvenience caused as a result of the postponement.”

As a major legal battle gets underway, shareholders in Indonesia's largest shrimp producer PT Central Proteinaprima (CP Prima) will seek to prove that their opposing camp - a group of big international bondholders - are in breach of contract, a spokesman claims.

"We simply look for their compliance with the terms of signed agreement, including with procedures," Edward Lontoh, the spokesman for Red Dragon Pte. Ltd, one of the four shareholders suing the bondholders represented by Bank of New York Mellon and Bank Danamon, acting as trustee and security agent respectively, said in a statement dated Wednesday.

The other shareholders are Regent Central International Limited, Charm Easy International and PT Surya Hidup Satwa. The bondholders meanwhile are a group of global companies including Morgan Stanley, Marathon Global Equity Master Fund and Highbridge Asia Opportunities Master Fund.

The shareholders have filed a lawsuit against Bank Danamon and Bank of New York Mellon for executing a transfer of pledged shares to the bondholders, with the first hearing in a Jakarta court having taken place on Aug. 20, when a judge temporarily delayed the proceedings to give more time to the opposing camps to prepare their cases.

Vietnam exported 72,288 tons of shrimp in the first six months this year, up 1.8 percent year-on- year in volume, said a report of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

However, the export turnover recorded a year-on-year decrease of 4.7 percent to 589.2 million U.S. dollars, said the association.

In June, Vietnam exported 18,982 tons of shrimp, bringing in over 148 million U.S. dollars, up 13.5 percent in volume and 3.9 percent in value over the same period last year.

The association attributed the increase in Vietnam's shrimp export volume in this period to increased demand from the country' s key markets of the United States and European countries

Fate of large number of Indian shrimp farmers and seafood exporters hangs in balance due to slipshod attitude of the Indian Fisheries Department, alleged Gorachand Mohanty, president of Orissa chapter of Sea Food Exporters’ Association of India, while talking to reporters here recently.

At least 50 percent shrimp farmers of the India stopped farming this year due to fall in shrimp prices in the international market last year. The global economic crisis has also affected the sea food industry in the state, said Mohanty.

Many seafood-importing countries have decided to purchase shrimps from only registered shrimp farms.

Bangladeshi fish exporters, already hit by the global economic crisis, said yesterday they had temporarily stopped shipping fresh water shrimps after a harmful drug was found in some shipments. The voluntary six-month suspension was imposed after European Union nations returned 50 container loads over the past eight months because tests showed traces of the banned antibiotic nitrofuran, a top exporter said.

"It's a blow to our industry but we had to take the drastic measure and find out how nitrofuran is entering the shrimps, their farms and hatcheries," said Kazi Shahnewaz, who heads the Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association.

A proposal from southern shrimpers to pledge 10,000 tonnes of Vannamai shrimp has been turned down by the government on fears of a financial loss.

Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai, who chaired a working panel on farmers assistance, said the government would rather consider other forms of assistance such as soft loans for contract farming and subsidies for production costs.

The government already holds a shrimp stockpile of about 2,508 tonnes and an additional purchase would trigger an immediate loss of about 400 million baht, said Mrs Porntiva.

Under its price-pledging scheme, the government bought 10,000 tonnes of shrimp last year at 105-160 baht per kilogramme. Of these, only 7,492 tonnes have been sold and the government anticipates a loss of 494 million baht if it fails to clear its remaining stocks.

Shrimp farmers in eight southern provinces asked the government to buy their products -- at 160 baht per kilogramme of 40 shrimp, 140 baht per kg of 50 shrimp, 130 baht per kg of 60 shrimp, 115 baht per kg of 70 shrimp and 105 per kg of 80 shrimp -- as prices have fallen steadily over the last four months.

For instance, one kilogramme of 60 shrimp is now priced at about 110 baht, down from 120 baht in April, 128 baht in March, 131 baht in February and 124 baht in January. The farmers proposed pledging prices of about 105-160 baht to enable them to stay afloat.

The decline in the strength of the dollar against some major global currencies, slower growth of the US economy, anti-dumping tariff disputes and reduction in consumer confidence have all weakened the world’s biggest shrimp importer, the US, which accounts for an annual shrimp import of 5,50,000 tonnes valued at around $4 billion.

Shrimp Market Consistent Fall

This decline which has affected all categories and types of shrimp imports has deleteriously affected shrimp exporting countries, including Asian countries.

Indian shrimp exports to the US has been consistently falling in recent years while those to competing destinations such as EU and Japan have proved more resilient. While shrimp exports still remain the biggest constituent of Indian marine exports, it has been falling in both quantity and value in the export basket.

Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF) is set to expand its biosecure shrimp farming system in Trat province over the next two years after completing a four-year first phase at the end of 2008.

The expansion of the Roiphet Integrated Shrimp project, which promotes white shrimp cultivation in an environmentally friendly closed system, is expected to start by 2010 once production under the one-billion-baht first phase has stabilised.

The investment budget for the next phase was not disclosed but it is likely to be less than one billion baht, according to Sujit Kaewchum, vice-president of the listed flagship of the Charoen Pokphand Group (CP).

To meet growing demand for food safety, CP Group set up its first biosecure shrimp farm on a 3,000-rai site in Trat, 230 kilometres east of Bangkok, in 2005.

The seafood industry in the country will lose about RM900mil of festive season sales to Europe due to a delay in the re-audit visit from the European Union’s (EU) Food and Veterinary Office (FVO).

Malaysia Shrimp Industry Association (MSIA) president Syed Omar Syed Jaafar said the visit had been scheduled to take place between Oct 13 and Oct 24.

“The re-audit visit was postponed by the authorities because certain monitoring procedures, facilities and infrastructure such as landing areas in ports that they supervise are not ready,” he told the Malaysian StarBiz Newspaper. “However, our members have upgraded their production sites and are ready for the re-audit visit.”

After we look back on the first 9 months of 2008, we can see that only exporters of processed chicken and seafood products have directly benefited so far from the Japan-Thailand free trade agreement, say experts. Co-operative programs involving various sectors in the two countries have yet to start, said speakers at a Foreign Ministry conference on the first anniversary of the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEPA).

Thai meat and seafood exports to Japan rose 36% year-on-year to 30 billion baht in the first nine months of 2008. Processed chicken and fish exporters have eagerly sought to take advantage of the trade pact. Seventy-nine percent of processed shrimp exporters and 80% of black tiger prawn exporters have applied for benefits, Khun Rangsit Phusiripinyo, an official with the Agricultural Fiscal Policy Office, said.