Black Water Shrimp earned over $274 M in first quarter of 2023

Production of black water shrimp production has increased by 44.6 per cent, totaling over $274 million in earnings.

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha recently disclosed that the production of black water shrimp for 2023 thus far is 182,890 kilogrammes. A release by the Ministry said that these figures, when compared to the first quarter of 2022, is an increase which supports the government’s goal of producing 1.5 million kilogrammes annually by 2025.

The Minister explained that with the successes seen thus far, the Ministry is now working to have the programme replicated in Region Five. The production of brackish water shrimp is currently concentrating in Region Six where farmers were assisted with the construction of ponds. Minister Mustapha further stated that some 37 farms in Region Six have been developed, comprising a total of 133 ponds.

He also disclosed that other places like Region Two are being considered for the production.

“In the first few months of the project, we were able to increase production by 203% and those levels have continued to increase over the years,” the Minister noted.

Before the government’s interventions to improve the production, farmers were producing just about 10,000 kilogrammes monthly and just about 120,000 kilogrammes annually.

In an effort to boost productivity, the collaboration between the government and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has seen a study conducted to gather information for the piloting and implementation of a strategy to enhance shrimp production in Guyana and several other Caribbean states.

A total of $349.6 million was allocated in the 2023 budget to support the further improvement of the fishing industry.

Recently, the Ministry received three manuals that were developed collaboratively by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Wildlife Fund – Guianas (WWF-Guianas), and the Ministry’s Fisheries Department – one of which will be used to guide brackish water shrimp production in Guyana.