BLUE SHRIMP FROM NEW CALEDONIA, a luxury product
Initiated in the 1970s, blue shrimp aquaculture began ten years later with the creation of the Caledonian Aquaculture Company (SODACAL) in 1984. The territory chose to farm blue shrimp instead of the tiger shrimp or white-legged shrimp because of the latter's adaptation to the relatively cool winter climate of New Caledonia, and therefore the possibility of achieving two annual campaigns. As a result, New Caledonia was for a long time the only country able to market farmed blue shrimp.
It is positioned locally as a daily product and exported as a luxury product, mostly to the Japanese market, reports a study by the “Institut d’émission d’Outre-mer de Nouvelle-Calédonie”.
At first the shrimp was only a local product however a few years after the launch of the industry, the local shrimp market (around 700 tonnes on average for ten years), quickly found itself saturated given its limited size. Exporting became the essential means for the sector to continue its development. Nowadays the blue shrimp from New Caledonia is a quality benchmark throughout the world: 80% of production is dedicated to export.
Japanese chef, Hidekazu Tojo
This high-end export positioning strategy, particularly in Japan, has allowed prices to rise steadily, even though the local market remains the first and most profitable market. Driven by this particularly demanding market, emphasis has been placed on quality. The consumption of frozen raw shrimp in sashimi or sushi not only promotes the enhancement of the intrinsic taste qualities of blue shrimp, but also the search for perfection in terms of sanitary standards and presentation.
“This is the only recognized French shrimp of sashimi quality. Its flavor close to umami (on the border between sweet and savory) makes it particularly appreciated by chefs, ”says Hélène Artufel, the general manager of Sopac.
A marketing shift was taken at the start of the 2010s with the creation of new brands (Obsiblue in particular) for niche export markets (luxury catering and fishmongers in particular) and new ambitions towards Europe through the company Prestige seafood. This strategy has led to a steady and significant increase in export sales prices over the past ten years (+ 34%). Exports outside Japan, however, remain very limited (15% of volumes on average over ten years). They mainly concern France, the United States, Wallis et Futuna and Australia.
This sector mobilizes a large number of players: four hatcheries, two feed producers, eighteen grow-out farms and two packaging workshops. The large number of actors and their homogeneous distribution over the territory are a strength however there is a production deficit of about 20% on average over the past 10 years.
Farm activity requires significant investments for profitability, which remains limited, but is increasing thanks to the continuous rise in selling prices per kilo since 2010. The support of the public authorities in the financing of investments has been decisive.
The weight of the sector in the economy remains modest (around 0.1% of GDP) but more significant in terms of jobs, 0.5% in the private sector. In the agricultural sector, shrimp aquaculture represents the third production in terms of value, after fruits and vegetables and almost on par with the beef and poultry sectors, and the first in terms of exports.