Shrimp farming in coastal Brazil: Reasons for market failure and sustainability challenges

In Brazil, farm shrimp production has remained constant over the last five years but exports have fallen sharply and almost all production is now consumed domestically. This situation exists despite adequate water resources, available labour and climatic conditions which allow three production cycles per year. This paper is based on an assessment of the shrimp industry at a critical time when exports had reached their maximum level and were about to fall precipitously. It examines the reasons for the shrimp export market failure and discusses sustainability challenges for the future. Data were collected through interviews with hatchery, farm and processing plant managers and other stakeholders in Rio Grande do Norte state, the largest Brazilian farmed shrimp producer. It was found that market failure was the result of inadequate industry planning, inappropriate public policy and a lack of coordinated actions among the various shrimp producers and stakeholders. The research demonstrates that sustainable Brazilian shrimp farming will require technological and management improvements, institutional changes and an appropriate environmental and social framework.