U.S. Shrimpers requesting subsidies

Farmers get subsidies....  well, it just seems like everyone gets subsidies doesn't it.  Not it is the shrimper on the coasts right?  Now, I'm not saying that all industries deserve or should get them, but here is the basic story on what our shrimp fleets go through.  They have about a 4-5 month shrimping season.  Overseas they are primarily farming everything in shrimp and prawn.  (ok, this ultimately effects PRMP as well, so we are interested).  With an annual  world wide sales of over $110 Billion dollars in shrimp, the U.S. is producing about $1.6 Billion.  I want to provide you with the following information and see if the U.S. shrimp fleets are in their right to be a little angry, and should probably be filing suit with the WTO.  Or our government should:

Coalition of Gulf Shrimp Industries Fact Sheet on Shrimp Subsidy Petitions

• As shrimp imports drove down prices in 2012, the USA shrimp industry began to suffer operating losses.

• The petitions document more than $13.5 billion in government subsidies to the aquaculture and seafood processing industries in these countries, with the shrimp industry as the primary recipient.

• The petitions detail over one hundred programs benefiting shrimp producers in the seven countries, including direct government grants and equity infusions, cheap loans, debt forgiveness, tax breaks, the direct provision of land, shrimp feed, and other key inputs, as well as numerous export subsidies.

• The Government of Thailand intervenes in the market to buy shrimp from farmers and provide that shrimp to processors at artificially low prices.

• The Indian government provides subsidies to reduce shrimp processors’ ocean freight costs, with an added subsidy specifically for exports to the USA.

• In China, the government is providing financing to build what it hopes will be the world’s largest shrimp processing and export platform.

• The Malaysian government is investing tens of millions of dollars to build vertically integrated shrimp farms and processing facilities to target world export markets.

nough said?