MEASURING THE PROSPECT OF MONODON AND VANNAMEI SHRIMP IN INDONESIA

Since introduced to Indonesia’s Shrimp Farmers in 2001, the cultivation of the whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) is still going strong today. Vannamei, which is native to the Pacific Ocean, has many advantages, including having a high survival rate, available SPF fry, able to be domesticated, the ability to live in high density, higher resistance to disease, and lower FCR. Moreover, vannamei shrimp has a steady and mature market with very high absorption, so the concern for demand can be described as minor to none.

Speaking about the shrimp cultivation business in Indonesia, it is impossible not to mention the native shrimp species of Indonesia, known as the black tiger or tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon). There was a period when monodon became a very profitable export commodity and dominated the shrimp cultivation business in Indonesia. However, due to severe disease problems, the cultivation of monodon diminished. Today, monodon cultivation begins to rise again, although most of them are not in Indonesia.

The Global Market of Monodon and Vannamei

Discussing about the vannamei and monodon market, Irwan Tandiah from Benur Top, a company based in Aceh that supplies vannamei and monodon shrimp postlarvae, gave his view: “The easiest way to distinguish the market for vannamei and monodon is that vannamei has been considered as a ‘commodity product,’ while monodon is widely considered as a ‘premium’ or ‘niche’ product.”

Irwan explained that in the past 2 years, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the absorption rate of vannamei in importing countries has decreased quite significantly. Covid-19 Pandemic resulted in lower purchasing power and changes in market behavior, which did not help the shrimp industry. The direct effect is the negative trend of shrimp selling prices, and it has been happening in the global market from 2019 to early 2023.

On the other hand, according to Irwan, monodon always has its own place in the international market. This was also confirmed by Gemilang Lim, Chief of SCI West Kalimantan, he said that monodon cultivation has its own unique potential compared to Vannamei, which is currently the main shrimp species cultivated in the world and in Indonesia’s shrimp cultivation business. “Until now, monodon still has its own market. For example, in Singapore, a lot of premium restaurants still use monodon for their premium shrimp menu,” Gemilang said.

The basic characteristics of monodon include a more striking pigment, sweeter taste, chewier texture, and relatively larger size, making it attractive for quality-conscious markets such as Japan, South Korea, and Europe. “The downside is that the market for monodon is still very limited. Importing countries with strong purchasing power, such as the United States and China, have not yet been too interested in monodon, it is because the market behavior of those countries is more price sensitive,” explained Irwan.

Cultivation Management Comparison

Explaining shrimp cultivation management, Wayan Agus Edhy, a Shrimp Farming Consultant from Indonesia, said that monodon cultivation now uses an extensive cultivation method with total farm areas that can reach as large as tens of hectares. The stocking density splits into three categories, which are extensive (up to 5 shrimps per sqm), Semi-intensive (5 to 10 shrimps per sqm), and Intensive (10 to 50 shrimps per sqm). “However, intensive monodon farming is very rare today because the stocking density cannot reach the level as high as in vannamei farming, and also, the productivity rate is only one-third of the vannamei farming. Maybe because of these reasons, shrimp cultivation entrepreneurs pre- fer vannamei farming to monodon,” explained Wayan.

One of the factors why monodon cannot be cultivated with high stocking density is its high cannibalistic nature. This is the reason why its productivity rate is lower compared to vannamei. “Therefore, feed for monodon tends to have higher protein content (38-42%) than feed for vannamei (28-35%). Obviously, higher protein content means that monodon production costs tend to be higher,” he claimed.

Even though the cultivation productivity rate is still less attractive compared to vannamei, Wayan does not deny the possibility of monodon farming rising again in Indonesia. However, he views that management-wise monodon farming will stick to traditional and semi-intensive cultivation methods with low stocking densities. Furthermore, he advised making sure monodon shrimp postlarvae meet several requirements, such as SPF, SPR, fast growth, and less cannibalistic. This is to prevent repeating the disease problems that happened to monodon a few years ago.

This is justified by Irwan; according to him, what has always been an obstacle is the availability of quality and reliable monodon postlarvae. Related to this, Irwan claims that his company has been able to provide genetically sound black tiger shrimp SPF and F1. “And it seems to have potential because the demand for monodon shrimp fry is increasing day by day,” claimed the man born in Aceh.

Return of The Monodon?

According to Irwan, the demand for monodon shrimp fry in Indonesia is always there, especially in several areas that are ‘fanatical’ to monodons, such as North Kalimantan, Aceh, and several areas of Sulawesi Island. Although he also admitted, the growth in demand for SPF F1 monodon shrimp fry is still slow because now farmers still want to see the proof of how the new genetics improve the productivity rate.

Meanwhile, according to Gemilang, currently, in West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, the monodon farming business is starting to rise again even though the size is still very small. This young farmer said that he met Yong Kiang, the hatchery manager of PT. Pulau Mas Khatulistiwa, who is running a monodon hatchery business with a total capacity of 30 million shrimp fry per month. However, according to Yong Kiang, the business turns out to have not been able to run at full capacity because the demand is still very small.

For the North Kalimantan region, Gemilang said the location of monodon cultivation is mostly in Tarakan City, which in size and scale is still very small. “According to Yong Kiang, recently there was a visit from a monodon farmer to the hatchery; this monodon farmer said that his farm needs around 200 to 300 thousand black monodon fry per month,” explained Gemilang, who started his shrimp cultivation business in 2014.

Globally, the market potential of monodon shrimp is huge. Irwan added, according to Seafood Source, China has the potential to become a large importer of monodon, and it can be seen from the transactions that have been underway, where China consistently imports monodon from India and Vietnam. “Well, for countries that are currently competing to develop monodon shrimp, there are India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia,” explained Irwan.

So, what about Indonesia? According to Gemilang, in order for monodon to be more popular in the aquaculture industry, there are still some works that first must be completed, such as increasing efficiency and developing a modern cultivation method. Whereas, according to Irwan, the development of monodon farming can be initiated with the principle of ‘Slowly but Surely’, so we do not repeat the mistakes that are lately happening in vannamei farming, which are overly-dense stocking and ignoring biosecurity.

Yoga is an ancient practice that originated in India over 5,000 years ago. It combines physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines that aim to promote overall health and well-being. The method involves different postures or asanas, breathing techniques or pranayama, and meditation or relaxation techniques.

Over the years, yoga has become increasingly popular worldwide as people have recognized its numerous benefits. In this month’s Breaktime, we will explore some of the benefits of doing yoga.