Shrimp producing countries in the region, in a workshop

Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico and Ecuador (the latter two countries the major exporters in the area), cited by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), attend the parallel event to the XVIII Congress of Aquaculture & Aquaexpo 2016, that started yesterday afternoon.

Alejandro Rivera, program officer of UNIDO in Latin America, explained that the project, divided by group of countries includes three aspects: improving the competitiveness and efficiency in charge of Cuba and the Dominican Republic, quality and compliance requirements in charge of Nicaragua and Colombia; and Ecuador and Mexico work to improve the environmental sustainability.

Yahira Piedrahita, executive director of the National Chamber of Aquaculture, said that they are working on improving the energy efficiency and water.

On the national shrimp production, they indicated that they project closing 2016 with a volume growth of between 5% and 10% (750 million or 800 million pounds), although the dollars revenues depend on international prices.