The feed is an important element in the calculation of overall cost of shrimp production. It can represent up to 50% in case of intensive rearing system of P. japonicus, and average 30 to 40% in case of semi-intensive culture of P. stylirostris, P. vannamei in conditions of Tahiti or New Caledonia.
The cost of the feed can be examined as follows:
Basically raw materials represent the major item and that is why a lot of emphasis is put in selection and combination of ingredients in order to get the lowest cost. It can be done by help of computer and a least cost formulation programme, like MIXIT-2 which is very popular and providing a special shrimp data matrix. Milling cost would represent around US$ 0.22 per kg depending on the factory and the kind of processing and profit margin around 10 to 15%.
Now, the reference in terms of P. monodon feed is Taiwan and from last October 1988 prices exfactory were at F$ 1.63 per kg (F$ 1.30 equivalent to US$ 1.00).
If we look into prices considerations on shrimp feed since 1981, we can draw the following evolution.
In 1981 to 1987, a study for a prawn farm in Yagara was done by Japanese Cie Unitrade including a feed made locally at F$ 0.74 per kg which was basically a supplemental feed (fish meal, copra, soya, wheat bran, binder and vitamins).
In 1982, a study conducted by A. Febvre was providing a feed made locally by a factory investing in new specific equipments, was giving a shrimp feed at F$ 0.76 per kg which was not competing with an improved feed from Tahiti at F$ 0.99 per kg because of the need was only for 40 mt.
In 1984, at Naduruloulou Research Station, Mr. J. Albert conducted a whole study on shrimp feed locally made at experimental level which were very cheap, F$ 0.50 per kg but only considered as supplemental feed because growth performance of shrimp only fed on these extruded feeds were so low.
In 1986, a Japanese team working at Naduruloulou installed there a full set of equipments to produce feeds not only at experimental level but also at pilot scale. They run with feeds at F$ 0.43 per kg plus F$ 0.15 for factoring: F$ 0.58 per kg but for experimental purpose only.
Meanwhile, from 1983 to 1988, the Prawn (Fiji) Ltd., Ravi Ravi was involved infeasibility study for shrimp production relying on an imported feeds from Tahiti for a while, then from New Caledonia and recently a little from New Zealand. In 1985, the situation with the feed became a little bit difficult due to import taxes: a shrimp feed C.I.F. Lautoka at F$ 1.22 per kg was reaching the farm at F$ 1.55 per kg but in 1986 the manager received the agreement for duty free concession and that allow him to keep the price of the feed down to F$ 1.65 per kg. For the last 6 months of 1988, feed conversion was 2.9 which means F$ 4.79 spent of feed to produce 1 kg of shrimp sold at F$ 13 or a contribution of about 37% of the feed in selling cost.
At present, import from New Zealand is giving about the same price and as noted before, P. monodon feed from Taiwan commonly named “President” would be more expensive.
So the present survey is conducted to start discussions with local manufacturers namely Crest Mills acquainted with N.R.M. feeds, Padarath Poultry Enterprise Ltd. and Temptation Chicken Ltd. related with P.C.L. Auckland.
A preliminary calculation on the computer of Padarath Poultry Enterprise Ltd. for a given formula, has lead to the following conclusion: if produced in Fiji, a shrimp feed with one third of imported raw materials, will cost F$ 1.67 per kg, which means that it is about the same as imports. But the calculation was made with taxes on necessary imported ingredients. In case duty free concessions is obtained on such ingredients, price should go down to F$ 1.45 per kg at 20% profit margin or F$ 1.30 per kg if profit margin is 10%.
However, the present situation is not so critical on a feed point of view as it may represent 30% of overall costs but imports create some difficulties with timing for supply, and slightly lower freshness of the feed. It is an actually “working situation” taking into account a transfer of technology for shrimp feed production from Tahiti/New Zealand to New Caledonia.
Of course, a readily produced feed in Fiji in future is an aim, as far as extension of farm and new projects are concerned. If two years ago it was a little bit hard to convince a local manufacturer to start a production, the situation has been changing with a prospect of above 300 mt requirement very soon.
TABLE 1 : FUTURE OF SHRIMP PRODUCTION IN FIJI
| 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | |
| AREA (ha) | 24 used as (≈ 40) | 24 used as (≈ 40) | (150) | (150) | (150) |
| SHRIMP PRODUCED (mt) | 30* | (300) | (300) | (300) | (300) |
| SHRIMP FEED NEEDED (mt) | 75* | 140* | (600) up to 1100 mt | (600) up to 980 mt | (600) |
| FEED CONVERSION RATIO NEW OPERATIONS SCHEME | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.6 | |
| NAGASU (P. monodon) | X | X | |||
| X | X | ||||
| CAUTATA (P. monodon) | X | ||||
| NAVUA (AUSTRALIANS P. monodon) | X | X | |||
| FRESHWATER PRAWN FARMS | X | X | X | ||
| TILAPIA FARM | X | X | X |
| 8 months for producing 30–35 g shrimps [more commonly 23–28 grams in 5 months 1.5 crop/year or 1.7 crop/year for P. monodon] FCR = 2.5 - 3.0 |
( ) Figure in parentheses means it represents projection figures only.
* These figures are relatively realistic according to previous results.
X Indications for possible increases in feed demand.
And Padarath mill is really willing to be involved in this type of production and already prepared one batch of feed for Prawn (Fiji) Ltd., Ravi Ravi according their recommendations. This factory has to improve its equipments regarding a proper shrimp feed production, particularly versus grinding, pelleting, and if necessary coating operations. Definitely, it could represent an advantage for Prawn (Fiji) Ltd., to have a feed produced “on the spot” though, cost of transportation in Fiji (land freight) should not effect greatly the feed price, as it is about F$ 80 for a 45 kg bag to bring it in from Suva to Lautoka for example.
The grower feed imported from New Caledonia as an actual price of F$ 1.65 per kg which include ingredients for about F$ 1.00 to 1.10 per kg, factoring and profit margin to reach about F$ 1.20 and freight between Noumea and Suva to reach the actual cost without entrance taxes (duty free concession recently obtained).
Now a manufacture from New Zealand proposed a very cheap formulated feed in 1986 at less than F$ 1.00. But a revised costing made at Padarath showed that present situation cannot afford to run below F$ 1.20 per kg due to exchange rate in 1988 and an import of 99% raw materials. P.C.L. from New Zealand afforded a shrimp feed C.I.F.1 Fiji at F$ 0.85 to 0.90 per kg beginning 1987, which was correlated to devaluation of dollar (around 33%), and a shrimp feed C.I.F. F$ 1.15 to 1.20 per kg.
In term of economies, options are imports of shrimp feed to guarantee the present situation but meanwhile an approach near local manufactures has to be done on an economic point of view (costing, ingredients, etc.) and on a technological point of view (equipments, etc.) in order to be ready by 1990 for the extension of the Prawn (Fiji) Ltd., Ravi Ravi and to cope with additional prawn farming projects in Fiji. But from this survey, imports represent a temporary security, local production looks feasible whether in eastern or western part of the island (because land freight is not a critical point). Naturally, western production would ease things on a quality control point of view and in any case, it has to be looked further into the maximum use of local fish meal because it would help to greatly minimize the cost of locally produced feed.
The cost of the feed produced in Tahiti is at US$ 1.50 per kg without copra meal included. That is quite reasonable price considering FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio) which is around 2.5 : 1 and price of Macrobrachium on the local market around US$ 18.00 per kg.
This feed is produced in an existing plant near a coconut oil plant in Papeete. Additional equipment were added a couple of years ago mainly a cooker extruder and a fluid bed dryer in order to be able to produce up to 100 mt a year. Recently it has been shown feasible and more economic to produce through a regular pellet mill, water stable pelleted fresh water prawn feed.
Now the situation of producing this kind of feed is not critical at all, at the present stage of development of Macrobrachium farming in Tahiti. There are greater expectations of producing cheap feeds in local products like copra meal can be introduced in the diet made in Fiji.
