Why Thai Prawns
Why do we need to import prawns?
Australians (and Americans) consume more prawns than any other seafood species, so they are an important component of our diet. However, Australia’s prawn fisheries have already reached the limits of sustainability, and much of the catch is exported to overseas markets. Combined with the harvests from prawn farms, local production for the domestic market meets less than half of Australia’s current demand.
Where are Thailand’s prawns grown?
Thailand has over 30,000 prawn farms. (By comparison, Australia had about 25 in 2008). Most are located in the southern provinces such as Surat Thani, well away from busy industrial centres. Here the unpolluted ocean waters are fringed mainly by agricultural land, national parks and beautiful beaches – as many Australian tourists to the nearby resorts of Phuket and Koh Samui discover every year.
What Are Thai Farmed Prawn Fed?
To ensure maximum growth rates, quality and flavour, Thailand’s prawn farms use special feed that is factory-manufactured to specific formulas registered and approved by health authorities. The main ingredients are fishmeal and grains. The same companies supply the feed used by prawn farms in Australia, and elsewhere in the world.
Despite some commonly held misconceptions, Thai prawn farms registered for export do not use feed containing growth hormones or antibiotics. These are illegal and would be easily detected in compliance testing, resulting in severe commercial penalties such as the cost of shipments being rejected, loss of orders, and potential loss of Permits to Export. There is no advantage to farmers or processors in bending the rules – prawns in Thailand are among the fastest growing anyway.
Agricultural fertilisers and sewage are not used in modern prawn farming and Australia’s compliance rules include tests for pesticide residues and heavy metals.
Aren’t Only A Small Percentage of Prawns Tested?
It is true that every prawn cannot be tested. However, all prawns in a pond are subject to the same conditions. For example, if a chemical or disease entered a pond, it would affect all the prawns. Accordingly, prawns are harvested in batches that must come from the same pond on the same day. Test samples are then drawn from those batches. It is extremely unlikely that any disease or contaminant would not be detected in these samples. Farms and processing companies, and the Thai Department of Fisheries, conduct their own tests on a regular basis to ensure there are no problems. Compliance monitoring in Australia is carried out by the Australian Quarantine and Inspections Service (AQIS) to standards set by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and Biosecurity Australia. Initially, all shipments are batch tested using Australian laboratories. When a company has recorded a strong compliance history, the percentage of shipments is stepped down – eventually to 5%. However, if monitoring detects any failures to meet standards, not only are those shipments rejected, the company will revert to a stronger monitoring regime.
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hailand Export Quality prawns are among the most compliant products tested by AQIS.
International standards (imports and exports) are much higher than domestic health standards. Consequently, Australian-produced seafood is not required to be tested for any disease or contaminant before sale here – only if it is exported.
Why Are Thai Farmed Prawns Comparatively Inexpensive?
Asia’s warmer climate enables prawns to grow faster. Additionally, most of the world’s prawn farms have recently moved to naturally faster growing species such a vannamei. When these advantages are combined, it enables three ‘crops’ to be grown each year. This means prawns can be produced at much lower costs than countries like Australia, where only one annual crop is possible. Farming prawns doesn’t require expenditure on large vessels, fuel and the constant search for remaining stocks of wild prawns, so it is more consistent and cost effective than fishing. Farming also eliminates short-term seasonal and weather-related shortages, which have previously forced prices up.
The natural advantages of climate and fast growing species such as Vannamei, combined with this ‘world’s best’ prawn farming technology, are the reasons why Thai prawns are so affordable – and so good.