Not sure if there is a lot of interest in that article, but here goes;
CP Foods kick-starts plan to convert Thai shrimp farms to indoor operations
Thai firm Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) has introduced its prototype indoor shrimp farm, which executive vice president for aquaculture business Premsak Wanuchsoontorn hopes will be the first of many.
According to Premsak, CPF’s aim is to transform all of its Thai shrimp farms into many smaller-scale indoor facilities.
“Currently, 15-20% of the company farms in Thailand are indoor. We expect a complete transformation in probably the next five years,” the vice president said in a press statement
CPF’s intention is to invest in new sustainable technologies that will mitigate risk factors from the external environment, such as disease and the evident impacts of climate change. The growing consumer demand for greater food safety, security, traceability, and sustainability is a also a factor in the company’s new direction.
The first step
CPF’s prototype farm has been set up in Chantaburi, 285km east of Bangkok, Thailand. Here, the farm, which is 960,000 square meters, has been used to develop many new farming techniques that have since been shared with other CPF facilities and local farmers.
The prototype vannamei farm uses recycled water that is then recirculated through the farming system, thereby drastically reducing water consumption while simultaneously reducing the contamination risk that intake water always brings. The water is then filtered by the company’s "ultra filtration" system, whose 0.2 micron pore size can filter out organisms even as small as viruses.
“Those two techniques will not only ensure zero wastewater but also prevent business risk from disease. It will guarantee fresh and safety shrimp production without antibiotics,” said Premsak.
Furthermore, the use of biofloc microorganisms to convert toxic materials and residue into edible proteins effectively kills two birds with one stone, the company said.
By removing toxic residues from the intake water, it means that it can stay in the system for longer – the prototype farm has already reduced its water consumption from 5-7 cubic meters to just 1.5 cubic meters per kilo of shrimp produced.
“The microbial community in biofloc can damage these residues,” Premsak explained. “As a result, the farming process uses less water and produces nearly zero waste.”
Premsak added that shrimp farming in the future will be more depended on automation to save man hours and reduce contamination from the human touch. The farm is now equipped with several automatic systems.
“Shrimp farmers are reluctant to invest in the closed-indoor farming due to high investment. Bangsrakao’s farm is working on the technique to lower the cost. We believe that, eventually, all shrimp farms will be indoor farm to mitigate the risk of diseases,” he said.
Thai base for premium shrimp
Earlier this year during an earnings call, CP told Undercurrent News that it intended to use Thailand as the center for producing larger-size, premium shrimp, while the company’s outlets in India and Vietnam would focus on mass production for the commodity market.
Sujint Thammasart, CEO of the company’s aquaculture business, said premium products will be key to improve the fortunes of Thai shrimp businesses, following sharp reductions in exports to the US and the EU.
Thai shrimp year-on-year export volume to the US in June dropped by 42%. Moreover, Thannasart explained, exports to the European Union market -- once a key space for Thai products -- have also declined since the cut off tax privilege under Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, scheme on Thai shrimp in 2015.
Robins McIntosh, senior vice president at CP Foods, also told analysts that the company has developed an advanced breeding program to genetically improve strong and fast-growing shrimp from highly selected broodstock.
According to McIntosh, the new CP Foods baby shrimp are trusted by farmers thanks to their outstanding survival rate, low infection risk, and lower farming cost.
“Furthermore, the broodstocks are being sold to China and Vietnam,” he said.
In Mcintosh’s eyes the future of the shrimp industry will be dependent on how successfully they can produce “more with less”.
