Small shrimp producers regret the free fall of the sector due to lack of markets

The breakdown of diplomatic relations between Honduras and Taiwan has had serious consequences for one of the country’s most important productive sectors: the shrimp industry.

Small shrimp producers in the southern region, especially in Choluteca and Valle del Cauca , have reported large losses due to the lack of international markets, as they have not found in the People’s Republic of China the market promised after the change in trade relations.

Impact on shrimp production

Small producers have decided to delay their production cycles, hoping to find alternative markets. However, this decision is accompanied by a serious problem: the loss of shrimp due to poor water quality after the winter.

Wilmer Cruz, president of the Choluteca Association of Small Shrimp Producers, expressed his concern about the current situation: “ Since winter has set in, the waters are depleted of oxygen and that causes high mortality rates. Just yesterday, one of our producers, Marlon Salazar, lost nearly 10,000 pounds of shrimp from a single lagoon. “

This situation has generated helplessness and despair among producers, who see how their investment is not reflected in the expected results.

Another small producer, Eugenio Manzanares, also shared his frustration regarding promises that China would take over the Honduran shrimp market: “We were told that China was going to buy our product, but only two containers were sent as a sample and that was it. Companies began to plant, believing that we would export, but in the end, the prices offered by China were very low.”

This lack of market has forced many farms to close. Vladimir Boquín, president of the Marcovia Association of Small Shrimp Producers, indicated that more than ten farms have stopped farming in recent months: “ We are in imminent danger of disappearing. We have no markets to sell our product, we are producing, but there is no way out.”

Social and economic consequences

The crisis in the shrimp industry not only affects producers, but also thousands of workers who depend on this sector.

Kevin Hernández, a shrimp farm worker in Cedeño, expressed his concern: “My job on this farm has allowed me not to pursue the American dream, but now, with the current situation, I am worried about my job. If there are no sources of employment, how do we work?”

The shrimp industry generates more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs in southern Honduras.

The drop in production and the lack of markets are negatively impacting the local economy.

Quitín Soriano , mayor of Choluteca , warned about the social consequences that this crisis will bring: “When there is investment in shrimp, there is employment. When there is employment, there is shopping in markets, pharmacies, supermarkets. But if this industry falls, unemployment will grow, and local governments will have a bigger problem. This government does not understand the magnitude of the problem.”

Blow to the national economy

According to the National Association of Aquaculturists of Honduras (Andah), a drastic reduction in shrimp exports is projected for 2024 , which will represent a loss of more than 60 million dollars in foreign currency.

This blow will affect not only small producers, but the entire economy of the country, which depends largely on exports from the aquaculture sector.

The Honduran shrimp industry , internationally recognized for its quality, is facing one of its biggest crises.

Producers hope that the government will intervene and seek solutions to open new markets that will save an activity that has been the livelihood of thousands of families in the southern part of the country.