Held in Bali, Indonesia from August 16-17, 2023, TARS 2023 reflected on the current situation in Asia’s shrimp aquaculture, mired by ten-year lows in shrimp prices with a global oversupply situation. This year’s program featured 43 speakers, session chairs and panelists participating in ten sessions.

Dr. TB Haeru Rahayu, director general of Aquaculture, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia delivered the opening address. Indonesia, he said, has invested IDR 175 billion (USD 11.4 million) on its zone-based environmentally friendly pond model to spearhead shrimp aquaculture. Further expansion is planned in East Nusa Tenggara, covering an area of 1,800ha.

The State of Industry session looked at the industry from four vantage points: Why is Asia’s industry lacking and stagnating within the current crisis with low prices and high production costs; potential markets for Asia’s shrimp in domestic and regional markets by Kontali’s Chris van Bussell; while genetics is leading in terms of selective breeding, IFFO’s Brett Glencross showed the potential for nutritional innovation. A case study on industry in Indonesia was included.

“The Indonesian shrimp industry has the potential to become a significant investment hub for sustainable aquaculture, but this requires embracing sustainable culture practices and effective marketing strategies, for its long-term growth and resilience,” said Haris Muhtadi, Shrimp Club Indonesia (SCI) whose members contribute to almost 70% of Indonesia’s production of farmed shrimp.

The challenge today, said Robins McIntosh, Charoen Pokphand (Thailand) was, “Why, with so much technology, has the industry lost profitability? Our success with technology has resulted in higher productivity and lower production costs, but we are now paying when the principle of carrying capacity is exceeded. Farmers have no control over market forces but do have control over costs. Therefore, we should remember the fundamentals of farming shrimp.”

“There is no doubt that shrimp aquaculture is a risky business but there are opportunities. TARS offers all stakeholders a way to work together and move forward by identifying bottlenecks and proposing solutions for industry adoption. The roundtable breakout session is an important part of this event where all participants have a voice,” said Zuridah Merican chair, TARS 2023 and co-organizer of the TARS series together Corporate Media Services PL, Singapore.

“We are happy that despite today’s challenges in shrimp farming and the economic environment, we reached our goal. We take this as a positive sign as Asia’s stakeholders see the need to network and work together to position themselves for the future growth of the industry,” added Merican.