New species of shrimp to boost seafood exports in 2020

• New species expected to reel in $ 200 m, help double earnings 
• Industry set to fall short of $ 350 m target for 2019
• Hopes for level playing field with Maldives to remain competitive  

By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

A new species of shrimp is expected to contribute $ 200 million to the seafood export sector in 2020, Seafood Exporters’ Association of Sri Lanka (SEASL) President Dilan Fernando said. While the sector is targeting $ 500 million in 2020, the new species was introduced as a trial project earlier this year and results in terms of production will be seen by the latter part of next year. According to Fernando, this will lead to a big jump in the frozen seafood sector next year.

At the beginning of the year, it was reported that the country’s seafood industry had a target of $ 350 million in exports for 2019. However, according to the external sector performance report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, seafood exports were recorded at only $ 219.6 million during the period of January to October this year.

“We are at $ 250 million at the moment, so we are going to fall short of our goal this year,” Fernando said, adding, “Fresh seafood exports have been low due to a lack of fish and the low prices offered by the Maldives.”

Exports are also expected to be affected by Sri Lanka qualifying as an upper-middle income country and thus no longer being eligible for GSP+ in the next few years. The seafood exports sector is not too concerned about this, Fernando said, as long as the country’s main competitor for fresh fish, the Maldives, did not benefit from any tax concessions.

“As long as the Maldives does not benefit from any kind of GSP, it’s a level playing field,” he said, adding that if the Maldives did receive tax concessions, the Government may have to step in and offer some kind of subsidy.