What Are the Main Reasons Ecuadorian Shrimp Is Preferred in International Markets?

According to El Comercio, Ecuadorian shrimp is highly sought out for these reasons: 

• Freshness. José Antonio Camposano, executive president of the National Chamber of Aquaculture explains that what consumer markets are looking for is not a processed product, but a fresh shrimp. "The pristine shrimp, which is caught, frozen, and sent to the destination market, is the one that the consumer is willing to pay the most for."
  

• Size. Ongoing genetic research, which gained momentum after the devastating effects of the white spot virus, is targeting larger, faster-growing animals with greater resistance to disease.
  

• Environmental care. Camposano highlights that consumers increasingly appreciate a product that is the result of good environmental practices. The head of the shrimp guild mentions that brackish land is used for the cultivation of crustaceans, which has no vocation for other agricultural activities, which is why more jobs are generated.
  

• Quality. Ecuador exports a 'premium' shrimp. In the crustacean processors, the animal that comes out of the pools is selected whole, without physical defects, and that is the one that is destined for export. Animals that have defects of some kind have another fate.
  

• Social factor. Another factor that the consumer rewards are the social ingredient behind the product that reaches the hangers. 60% of the people who work in the Ecuadorian shrimp production chain, from capture to processing, are women, according to the National Chamber of Aquaculture. According to its president, these women are mostly female heads of the household.