Langkawi set to become producer of South American white shrimp
LANGKAWI: Langkawi is set to become a major producer of South American white shrimp through an aquaculture joint-venture project between Koperasi Pelaburan Pembangunan Hartanah Perak Berhad (KPPH) and China’s Fubao Group.
A memorandum of understanding on technology and marketing partnership of the project was signed between KPPH and Fubao here yesterday, witnessed by Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Bhd (Angkasa) President Datuk Abdul Fattah Abdullah.
Abdul Fattah said KPPH was offered a 250-acre (101.17 hectares) site by the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority in Bukit Malut here for a large-scale shrimp farming project that could generate a revenue of about RM1.5 billion per year after three years of implementation.
“KPPH will be the anchor coop and will invite other co-ops, especially those in Langkawi to join hands in making this shrimp farming project a success,” he told reporters here yesterday.
Abdul Fatah said the project is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs, as well as intensify research and breeding of South American white shrimp species.
Meanwhile, KPPH Chairman Saiful Bahri Samsudin said the project here would be the second undertaken by the co-op after successfully implementing a similar initiative in Temoh, Perak since 2016.
“The Bukit Malut shrimp farming project is not new to us. In fact, it’s our second after a similar project in Temoh, but Bukit Malut will be on a larger scale,” he said.
A researcher from Chinese Academy of Fisheries Sciences Prof Xu Wujie said the demand for South American white shrimp from China was very high at 180 million tonnes per year, while the country could only produce about 100 million tonnes per year.
He said the four seasonal weather of China was also not well suited to shrimp farming, resulting in declining production during winter.
“On the other hand, Malaysia’s weather is ideal (for breeding shrimp), with the markets in China always there. That’s why we need to work together,” he said. — Bernama