Taking place in Utrecht, Netherlands this September 3-5, was the Global Shrimp Forum, a fully dedicated event for the global shrimp industry.
The event was a huge success, gathering over 500 key industry leaders and experts, representing the entire shrimp value chain. Costa Skotidas, from International Aquafeed Magazine, attended this key event, meeting many industry players, proving to be an invaluable time well spent speaking to many people in the shrimp industry about key issues and innovations.
Day 1: Kicking off the third annual forum
The first day involved some interesting side events, including the ‘Inclusive supply chains and continuous improvement’ event, sponsored by Monterey Bay and Aquarium and Aquaculture Stewardship council, which looked at how to make shrimp supply chains more inclusive. Jordy van Honk with IDH (Sustainable Trade Initiative) asked a critical question—can we develop a metric that measures a decent standard of living? He stressed the importance of investing where it’s most needed. Putting children in schools in Africa did not resolve child labour because it isn’t the root cause—deep poverty is. We also learned from Nguyen Hoang Liem of Minh Phu how rice field shrimp farming can improve the livelihoods of shrimp farmers and their local communities.
The second side-event was the ‘Wild-caught Shrimp summit’, sponsored by Marine Stewardship council and WOFCO, which can an update on the challenges and opportunities within the wild-caught shrimp industry, including updates on MSC’s activities and the market situation in Argentine red Shrimp, Northern Pink and others.
Lastly there was a plenary opening, hosted by Melanie Siggs and featuring fascinating presentations from BioMar CEO Carlos Diaz, Rynan Technologies Chairman My Thanh Nguyen, Willem van der Pijl, Chris Ninnes, and capped off by a fascinating presentation from corporate Anthropologist, Jitske Kramer. The evening provided plenty of great networking opportunities, and incredible shrimp dishes for dinner!
Day 2
The second day began with a detailed session on import and export statistics from across the industry, compiled and presented by Willem van der Pijl. Speaking on the import statistics in the second half of the session was Nate Torch, co-president of CenSea, who stated “We need to find a way to increase shrimp consumption around the world.”
There were several sessions following this, including a deep dive in China’s Shrimp production and global farming perspectives, as well as an update on commodities and feed manufacturers perspectives on shrimp feed. This started with Carlos Mera of Rabobank and Helene Ziv-Douki from Cargill, who covered everything from the dangers of ‘Cereal Killers’ to the exciting possibilities of precise nutrition for shrimp-feed. Additionally, a panel, there were insights from several predominantly shrimp-producing Asian markets. Rizky Darmawan explained that Indonesia’s shrimp industry is aging, and it is crucial for the younger generation step in. Even with the current low market conditions, success is still possible with good practices. Similarly, Loc Tran noted that smallholders in Vietnam are facing challenges, but the younger generation are beginning to approach shrimp farming as a business. He believes this shift will lead to improvements in the next 2-3 years.
Another presentation that day looked at developing India’s domestic market, where it was discussed how realistic it is to expect India’s population to soon consume a significant part of its farmed shrimp production.
A session on the future of insect proteins in shrimp feed formulations highlighted two success stories from Entobel and Protix, who shared their stories with the delegates, before a lively panel discussion which also welcomed representatives from Cargill, Albert Heijn, Hatch and International Finance Corporation onto the stage.
GSF board member Esther Luiten paired a session with Anton Immink, looking at ‘Shrimp x Tech’ featuring three tech providers—Minnowtech, GalaxEye, and Kontali Shrimp—competing against four potential adopters: Devi Sea Foods, Skretting, MER Seafood, and The Fishin’ Company.
The Global Shrimp Council will present its views on promoting shrimp consumption in the US and other markets worldwide, and near the end of the day there was an exciting new product launch by kampi (an xpertSea Company), showcasing a revolutionary next-generation AI mobile solution that will allow shrimp experts to witness the power of ultimate real-time farm productivity management in the palm of their hands, elevating shrimp farming practices to the next level.
Day 3
The final day began with a session on finance and investment, looking at growth in the shrimp industry, alongside a Climate summit, during which we heard about the promise that shrimp and seafood in general holds to provide far higher levels of animal protein at a lower environmental cost, and the urgent action the industry needs to take to realise that promise.
There was also a trade regulation and due diligence summit providing valuable insights into the evolving landscape of shrimp trade, with a focus on recent regulatory changes in the US and EU, including antidumping duties and FSMA 204.
The final session looked at China’s Shrimp Market, Retail Perspectives and More. Fang Qing explored the complexities of the Chinese consumer market, highlighting how different types of shrimp serve varied purposes. He reassured us that shrimp consumption in China will not decline unless the population itself does, which is unlikely. The session closed with a brief reflection on the insights gained and, more importantly, on inspiration and initiatives for collaborative action towards a better future for the shrimp industry.
Speaking to attendees
Costa Skotidas spoke to many great industry players during the event including Lukas Manomaitis, Global Aquaculture Coordinator for USSEC. “It’s important to have a presence at these events, and understand what the conversation is about soy, with all the alternative ingredients that are coming out.” He went on to explain how there are opportunities for increasing soy products, however there’s an important balance for ensuring we can show the value in the formulation without a decrease in the performance of efficiency.
We also spoke to Benedict Standen Head, Aqua Marketing Global for DSM (sponsors of the Global Shrimp forum). Here to learn, the shrimp is very dynamic with lots of moving parts, and interesting to contribute to the learnings, with their innovations such as Sustell.
Libby Woodhatch, Executive Chair for MarinTrust Ltd – touched upon the importance of the global shrimp sector, describing the event as “a great initiative to get people together for further collaboration.”
Jean-Benoît Darodes de Tailly, Global Program Manager for Aquaculture at Phileo, tells us about the programme they’re launching this year: ‘aquasaf shrimp’, a solution for shrimp farmers and manufactures, about gut health, health monitoring on shrimp farms and functional proteins. Able to talk to feed millers and distributors, “you get to meet all the decision makers –that’s why we’re here.”
Eva Keferböck, General Manager for White Panther (Shrimp farmers from the Alps) spoke about their artificial water hatcheries whilst Kelli Booth, Co-founder and CEO of Minnowtech, showed us their innovative biomass reader tech for shrimp.
Yahira Piedrahita, the executive Director for National Chamber of Aquaculture, spoke to us about the biggest opportunity for shrimp industry right now, saying that we need to focus on supporting the increasing demand, to increase the market price.
Piotr Postepski, CCO for Protix, talked about his panel, which focused on the history and future of the insect business industry. “I believe the insect industry is just starting out, we are really at the turning point to grow and move forward. Until now, we were able to address the three biggest issues we had in the past. We managed to scale up production, and are now trusted reliable business partners to the largest players in the industry. Secondly, thanks to our diversified portfolio we are able to have enough products for different customers in different sectors. Thirdly, we are currently able to provide many scientific-based commercial evidence to prove the benefits of our products that position us above other protein sources.”
Concluding a successful event
Overall, the Global Shrimp Forum was an overwhelming success, with numerous educational sessions, networking opportunities and facilitating collaboration amongst key players in the shrimp industry. See you next year!
Published in October 2024 edition of International Aquafeed Magazine
