Venezuela increased exports of marine products

In the first half of the year, foreign sales of registered marine products reached 13 thousand tons of shrimp; 1,000 tons of blue crab, 907 tons of “tajalí” and octopus with 629 tons, which represents an increase of 10 % compared to 2020 in the same period. These preliminary figures were recently released by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Juan Luis Laya, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, explained that the increase in loads is due to the improvements made to the export process, especially to everything related to permits.

“We have made an effort to simplify the export process; above all, in the case of shrimp, which is the marine item that is most exported in the country (…) We are facilitating the entire permitting process for companies to increase shrimp production in Venezuela by 15 %,” reported the head of the portfolio.

Regional powers

The region with the greatest potential for shrimp production is the state of Zulia, followed by Trujillo and Mérida, for having a coastline on Lake Maracaibo. Other regions that are added are the west with the Falcón state; the East with the states of Anzoátegui, Sucre and Nueva Esparta. According to the figures recorded in previous years, total production in the year is around 25,000 tons.

Shrimp companies in the state of Zulia lead the market and are grouped in the Association of Shrimp Producers of Western Venezuela (Asoproco), led by Fernando Villamizar Esparza, who reported that they plan to export 30,000 tons by the end of 2021.

Asoproco considers that if year-on-year growth is maintained equal to or greater than 20 %, in the next 3 years some 100,000 tons per year will be exported. However, some specialists are more conservative and estimate about 60,000 tons per year, aimed at the markets of “the United States and the European Union together with Russia, Turkey, China and Japan.”

M. Rodríguez

Fuente: hispanopost.com