(macauhub) Mozambique is expected in 2013 temporarily to halt its shrimp exports to the Asian, European, and African markets following the discovery of white spot viral disease, found in the basin off the coast in Zambézia province since 2011, Mozambican newspaper Correio da Manhã reported.
Citing a source from the Fishing Ministry, the newspaper said that the shrimp had showed strong signs of becoming extinct in open sea and that the situation had worsened in 2011 with the discovery of the disease, which is responsible for altering the physical structure and quality of the shrimp.
“We are washing out the farmed shrimp breeding tanks across the country,” said Abílio Cândido, assistant to Fishing Minister, Víctor Borges.
Cândido said he was reticent about the possibility of the projected rise in the contribution of shrimp to Mozambique’s gross domestic product (GDP) from 3.1 percent in 2006 to around 12 percent of GDP by the end of 2012, noting that it would not now be possible given that shrimp production was currently lower than expected.
This year around 18,000 tons of farmed shrimp are expected to be exported, as compared to 10,000 tons in 2011.