Research & farming techniques Comparative advantage analysis of shrimp production in Asia

Shrimp is a fi sheries commodity of great importance in the international aquatic product trade, particularly to Asia and some South American nations. Shrimp products are a universally popular food commodity consumed through out the globe and rarely restricted by gender, age and religion etc. The USA anti-dumping case against Asian countries has brought about much public and governmental attention on the shrimp production sector and its international trade. In order to analyze the status of Asian shrimp production, and to promote sustainability of its trade, comparative advantage and competitiveness analysis was undertaken. It is hoped that such an analysis will be useful in understanding the current situation of the shrimp industry and its develop-ment, and will be helpful in making the shrimp production more effi cient and viable. General information Asia has favorable natural resources for shrimp production, with the coasts of the Pacifi c and Indian oceans providing adequate coastal resources. The climate of Asian countries is tropical or subtropical. These favorable natural conditions are suitable for shrimp production and development. Shrimp production includes production from capture and aquaculture and Asian countries take advantage of both. Asia is the most important shrimp producing region of the world, particularly South-East Asia. In 2003, the cultured shrimp from Asia accounted for 85 % of the total world cultured shrimp production. Total shrimp production in the last decades has increased dramatically; the production has increased from 2.63 million tonnes in 1990 to 5.329 million tonnes in 2003. The top fi ve shrimp producing countries of the world ar