| Development of Coastal Aquaculture (Phase II) | KEN/80/018 |
REPORT ON HANDLING, PROCESSING AND MARKETING OF SHRIMP
AT THE PROJECT KEN/80/018
by
Z. Karnicki
Fishery Industry Officer
Fish Utilization and Marketing Service
FAO, Rome
Fisheries Department, FAO, Rome
March 1984
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4.4 Present Handling Practices
4.9 Present Shrimp Market Situation in Kenya
5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.5 Basic Hygienic Requirements
I was instructed to travel to Kenya as a Consultant for KEN/80/018, Development of Coastal Aquaculture (shrimp culture), with the following Terms of Reference:
to examine the facilities and advise on the proposed operation of the plate freezer for shrimp (ordered end 1983);
to study and recommend where necessary improvements in the handling, processing and marketing of shrimp supplied from the aquafarm;
to examine briefly the price structure for fresh/frozen shrimp in Kenya in order to enable the Project, and eventually the independent aquafarm (Government or private sector) to maximize socio-economic benefits from shrimp sales, both within and outside Kenya.
| Arrival | Departure | |
| Rome | 12.02.84 | |
| Nairobi | 13.02.84 | 15.02.84 |
| Malindi | 15.02.84 | 22.02.84 |
| Nairobi | 22.02.84 | 1 |
| Rome |
1 The Consultant continued his trip from Nairobi as in FIIU/TRAM/2486
Mr G.L. Pennacchio, UNDP Resident Representative, Nairobi
Mr K.E. Kolding, FAO Representative, Nairobi
Ms D. von Brentano, FAO Programming Officer, Nairobi
Dr S. Sivalingam, Project Manager KEN/80/018
Mr N. Odero, Director of Fisheries, Nairobi
Mr E. Mwakilenga, Assistant Director of Fisheries, Mombasa
Mr M. Yu Kong Tung, Managing Director, Wanainchi, Marine Products (Kenya) Ltd, P.O. Box 81841, Lumumba Road, Mombasa, Kenya, Telex: 21219
Mr Abdul Verjee, Director (Processing Plant), Samaki Industries (Kenya) Ltd, Old Port, P.O. Box 84708, Mombasa, Kenya, Telex: 21129 FISHERIES
Mr Amler Verjee, Director (Export Office), Samaki Industries (Kenya) Ltd, P.O. Box 41218, Hombe Road, Nairobi, Kenya, Telex: 22104 FISHERIES
Mr Minar Kurji, Kenya Cold Storage (1964) Ltd, P.O. Box 97423, Mombasa, Kenya
At the moment, the Project has six ponds completed and in production with a total surface of 9 ha under water. Three more ponds are in an advanced stage of development and they are expected to be completed by the end of June 1984. This will bring the production area up to 13 ha.
However, progress in pond construction is slow due to severely limited funds available from the Government counterpart inputs, particularly in the last year or so. In 1983, work on ponds was stopped for a period of six months due to lack of funds and this year's allocation is only 30 percent of the funds allocated a year ago. In addition to that, the constructions are mainly by manual labour and since the labourers receive payment made on daily basis rather than for the amount of work performed, it does not encourage increase in work efficiency. Recently the situation may be changed a bit as the project can use its revolving funds generated from the sale of shrimp and pay by amount of work done. This should speed up the construction works.
Production achieved in the last production cycle is given in Table 1. Production is carried out in a cycle of 110 days, but harvesting is done every 90 days. An additional time of 20 days is required for preparation of the pond before introduction of the seed. It should therefore be estimated that there are 3.3 harvests from every pond per year. The stocking density so far has been about 20 000/ha. However, experiments with heavy stocking density, about 40 000/ha, in Pond 5 gave very good results (yield above 330 kg/ha) and therefore other ponds will also be heavily stocked.
Table 1
Production achieved in the last production cycle
| Pond No. | Total pond surface | Date of harvest | Total weight (kg) | Remarks |
| 3 | 1.04 | 08.02.84 | 140.9 | |
| 4 | 1.54 | 21.01.84 | 385.8 | |
| 5 | 1.59 | 13.01.84 | 533.2 | |
| 6 | 1.4 | 09.01.84 | 54.2 | Experiment with negative result |
| 1 | 1.1 | 03.01.84 | 101.9 | Experiment with use of artificial fertilizer - negative result |
| 2 | 1.2 | 29.11.83 | 236.1 |
Most of the shrimp fall into the class with a count (per 750 g) 51/90 (Mixed Queen) or 71/120 (Cocktail). Examination of random samples indicated average weight of single specimen 9.8 g.
According to Dr Sivalingam, it is doubtful that individual specimen size can be increased, though this would be extremely desirable as the price for a smaller count 51/60 (Queen) is significantly higher (about 40%).
Water is drained from the pond and shrimp collected alive at the outlet gate. They are placed in plastic basins and then transported to the sorting shed, where they are washed using water from a nearby well. Sorting according to sizes is done on tables covered with aluminium sheets by semi skilled workers, supervised by the Project staff counterparts.
Sorted shrimp are washed again, placed in plastic fish boxes and weighed. Later, some ice is added on top of the shrimp. A small amount of ice is purchased from the ice plant in Mombasa at the price of KSh 1/kg prior to harvest. Boxes with shrimp are stacked on a pickup and transported to Malindi (about 23 km) over a rather bad road.
It takes about 3 h from the time the shrimp are harvested until they are loaded on the car, and another hour before they reach Malindi. In Malindi (Fisheries Office) the shrimp are packed in 1-kg portions in aluminium trays and loaded into chest freezers. It takes about 48 h at least to freeze the shrimp. After freezing, two 1-kg blocks are put into transparent plastic bags and stored in chest freezers. There are six chest freezers with a total volume of about 2 300 litres, sufficient to store about 1 000 kg of frozen shrimp. However, freezers are designed to store a product - not to freeze it - and their freezing capacities therefore are small and, in the Project case insufficient to cope with a harvest over 300 kg. Slow freezing also has detrimental effects on product quality.
Evaluation of random samples indicated reasonably good quality of the final product. As chilling during the handling of shrimp is practically not applied (the amount of ice used is highly insufficient) and the freezing method is very slow, it is not surprising to observe discolourations, blackening, autolysis, dehydration, although none of these in excessive amounts. Lack of running water does not facilitate proper washing and if an appropriate quality evaluation method were applied, a substantial number of samples (of head-on shrimp) would probably be rejected, particularly that in addition quite a few instances of extraneous material, such as pieces of wood, shells, sisal fibres have been found.
In headless shrimp the most common defects were extraneous material and heads partially removed. As far as sorting is concerned, two different counts in head-on shrimp have been found; in the same sample more or less in the same proportions there were 61/70 and 80/up.
However, it should be clearly stressed that despite the above-mentioned defects, the overall quality of the shrimp produced by the Project is good according to local terms of quality, and one could say it can easily compete with the quality of other local shrimp products from the coastal trawl fisheries on the market.
So far, there are no quality standards or quality control of shrimp and other fish products in Kenya. Quality is usually judged by overall appearance and eventually smell. Counts, particularly in the higher level (queens, queens mix, etc.) are not carefully observed. The cleanliness of frozen shrimp and the hygienic conditions under which they are prepared are rather far from the level required internationally.
With increasing production, the Project experienced difficulties in locating proper outlets for its product. Being a complete newcomer to, supplying cultured shrimps for the first time on the market (i.e., method of production but not species, which is common), the Project encountered significant difficulties in finding its way through marketing channels. Attempts to find a market at local hotels in Malindi failed due to the fact that the hotels did not want to break their well-established contact with their suppliers (local fisherman and wholesalers from Mombasa) and patronize a new one - a stranger with no established credibility.
Traders in Mombasa were not very interested as the amount offered was rather small and collection of the shrimp required a trip of approximately 150 km to Malindi/Ngomeni and back. To make up the high transport costs and obviously taking advantage of the Project's difficult situation, they were offering very low prices. Having no other choice, three lots were sold to Kenya Fishing Industries (KFI), but only one lot was paid for, as KFI went bankrupt. Finally, the Project made a contract with several hotels in Nairobi like the Hilton, Intercontinental, etc. and got a good price from them; these, at the moment, are: special queens KSh 601, head-on queens KSh 55, headless queen KSh 95 and headless cocktail KSh 71, peeled cocktail KSh 81. These prices more or less reflect wholesale prices in Mombasa. Shrimp are shipped to Nairobi airfreight (KSh 1/kg + KSh 15 flat handling charge for one consignment). To facilitate transport of frozen shrimp, the Project constructed several returnable insulated fish boxes of 24 kg and 36 kg capacity, made of welded aluminium sheet and insulated with styrofoam. The cost of such boxes made locally is respectively US$ 181 and 253 (KSh 2 500 and KSh 3 500).
1 Exchange rate KSh 13.8/US$ 1, prices all CIF Nairobi
Existing outlets ensure the sale of all products before next harvest. However, greater productivity and increased farming surface will bring about larger production and with the new ponds completed the Project will need to look for new marketing possibilities. There are two possibilities:
to seek direct contact with retailers, and deal as producer/wholesaler, obtaining a slightly higher price, but bearing all transport costs, making shipment arrangements, etc.;
make a contract with wholesalers, subject to the prices offered being reasonable, and sell all the surplus to them.
Although the first alternative seems to be a natural choice as the Project is already marketing its own product, it should be remembered that dealing with hotels is easier than dealing with retailers. First of all, hotels do not require any particular packaging. Plastic bags seem to satisfy their requirements and what they are mainly looking for is freshness of the product.
Going into the retail business will require the introduction of proper packing materials and will involve an additional burden connected with the distribution of the product, often in small quantities. The main retail market is definitely in Nairobi (some 400 km away) and not having its own man over there will make business difficult for the Project and, due to the limited amount of product, most likely not economically viable. Therefore, the Project maintaining its present outlets should sell the surplus through wholesalers.
A visit made to Mombasa by the Consultant and Project Manager clearly indicated that the Project is gaining ground on the market as well as credibility. The possibility to sell the product in Nairobi for a good price, when such a low price was offered in Mombasa, gave the Project recognition among traders. It also created a substantial interest in Project activities as a future possibility for investment.
Mr M. Yu Kong Tung, Managing Director of Waninchi Marine Products in Mombasa, expressed keen interest in collecting fresh shrimp from Ngomeni at his wholesale price minus 30 percent which, it should be said, is quite a fair price, considering that the cost of ice, transport and packaging have to be borne by him. As the Project did not have a sufficient amount of shrimp for sale, the subject was not discussed further, but it is quite obvious that if the Project offers frozen shrimp CIF eventually in Mombasa then the price should be much closer to the wholesale price.
A more or less similar attitude has been expressed by Samaki Industries Ltd, Mombasa, and later in Nairobi which is now looking for export markets for their product. (More details on this subject can be found in FIIU/TRAM/2486.)
It was decided that in due course the Project Manager should repeat his visit to wholesalers in Mombasa with samples in hand and then discuss prices for the surplus of his product. Having already a plate freezer he would be able to produce a product of the same quality as that frozen at sea, and find a market for it. It seems premature to discuss possibility for export of the Project shrimp as production is still limited.
To solve the problem of freezing its own product, the Project decided to purchase a small plate freezer and the necessary diesel generators to run it. The plant, a self-contained plate freezer type GRAM HPF K-30/6 (capacity about 1 t/24) should arrive in Ngomeni by the end of March 1984.
As the purchase has already been made, there is no need to discuss whether or not it was technically or economically justified. It was agreed between the Project and the Government authorities to install the plant at the Project premises in Ngomeni. However, after visiting the Project site and the Kenya Fishing Industry landing centre some 2 km further towards Ngomeni village, the Consultant found a strong justification for installing the freezing plant at the KFI site. First of all, KFI was a parastatal organization which went bankrupt last year, and the Government is now willing to sell or look for a sensible use of the facilities which are Government property. It is rather doubtful whether anyone is interested in purchasing the landing centre in Ngomeni which is far away from Mombasa and 23 km from Malindi. Neither Malindi nor Ngomeni are sufficiently big markets to justify starting a fishing operation there were five fishing boats are presently lying idle.
The building which is of interest to the Project contains a small processing room, chill store, engine room and a small apartment occupied by watchmen, but does not include cold storage as such. The diesel generator is out of order and partially dismantled. Two 80-kw compressors seem to be in good shape. The building itself as well as processing and chilling area are properly designed and are kept in good condition. In this situation the installation of a freezing plant will require only the removal of one of the processing tables, additional wiring and probably connection with the cooling tower which however is not certain yet as running water is available, in contrast to the Project site.
The processing room is equipped with running water and fulfills proper technical and hygienic conditions for processing of shrimp, chill room will allow storage of ice before harvest, and keeping of iced shrimp before freezing. It is clear that the capacity of this plant will be above that now required by the Project, but this disproportion will be reduced in future when the Project's harvesting area increases.
The installation of a freezing plant at the Project site, which is only 2 km away, will require the construction of a new building as the present open shed is too small to accomodate the plant. In addition the installation of diesel generators next to the well on the Project site cannot be accepted, as it may pollute the water used for washing shrimp: another small building or hut would need to be erected and the necessary wiring provided for the freezing plant. All this will make the installation of the freezing plant at the Project site expensive and time-consuming. This matter was brought to the attention of Mr N. Odero, Director of Fisheries, during the meeting with him on 16 February 1984 in Mombasa. Dr Sivalingam and Mr Mwakilenga, Assistant Director of Fisheries, were also present. He fully agreed with this idea and being a member of the Board of Directors of KFI promised to pursue the matter further with the appropriate authorities.
A frank discussion took place at the same meeting with Mr Odero about the future of the Project, scheduled to come to an end in June 1985. The Consultant's opinion was that as long as private business is not involved in post-Project activities, there is little chance for success. However, as the investment cost of the Project was rather high and the harvesting area still limited, a proper arrangement should be worked out before the Project ceases operation.
There are several options which include running the farm by:
Taking all aspects into consideration it was the Consultant's opinion that the most appropriate would be the involvement of the private business. There are several strong points in favour of such an approach.
First of all, this is the first attempt to introduce shrimp culture in Kenya and probably the whole of East Africa. Therefore, if further follow-up is expected, two fundamental things should be proved. They are:
If this is not done, there will not be sufficient justification for implementing the idea in other places.
The many reasons why the Government or the parastatal organization are far from being efficient are known. Also experience in cooperative movement on Kenya sea coast is very limited and therefore experimenting the idea of the experimental shrimp culture farm with the cooperative does not seem to be a good solution in this particular case where economical success is needed.
Therefore, the only solution that remains is the involvement of the private business which will make all possible efforts to make the whole exercise profitable. The technical feasibility has been proven by the Project.
During the Consultant's visit to Mombasa great interest in the Project's activities was expressed by Wanainchi Marine Products (K) Ltd, as well as Samaki Industries Ltd. Of course, it would be premature to formulate any final opinion on their rediness to invest, however, they consider shrimp farming as an excellent solution to the present fluctuation and seasonability of shrimp supply.
Therefore, if further developments in shrimp culture in this part of Africa are expected the future of the Project needs careful and urgent attention on the part of the Government as well as FAO/UNDP.
A brief discussion held with the main shrimp producers in Mombasa, as well as a survey of the main markets in Mombasa and Nairobi, clearly indicated that supply is poor, prices high and demand unsatisfied. The main reason for such a situation was very poor catches during last season which starts in November and lasts until March.
The product which with difficulty was found on the retail market in Mombasa and Nairobi was of rather inferior quality. In Mombasa, of the five retail outlets visited, only two had shrimp for sale. One had in stock only about 5 kg of fresh shrimp (not iced) cocktail size for about KSh 50/kg1 and another one offered frozen shrimp, queen size (it was rather a mixture of queens and cocktail), which were frozen in a kind of muddy water, for KSh 45/kg.
The situation in Nairobi was no better. Of the six shops visited, only two had shrimp on sale. One was offering a mixture of small shrimps of totally unacceptable quality at KSh 75/kg and another frozen headless queens of acceptable quality (though with visible dehydration) for KSh 150/kg. None of the shops visited was expecting a fresh supply.
According to information received from Samaki Industries Ltd and Kenya Cold Stores, about 60 t of nile perch and frozen shrimp have been recently exported to United Kingdom from Kenya with the aim to gain a new market overseas and earn hard currency. Inclusion of shrimp in the shipment of nile perch according to Samaki Industries Ltd should improve the economy of the operation.
It needs to be stressed that the Project has done its best to ensure a good quality product and proper outlets. However, there are some areas for improvement which are discussed below.
As shrimp are collected alive, there is no need to use ice at this stage. Present practice is to transport shrimp to the sorting shed in plastic basins without water. It is recommended that a larger container filled with water should be used. It should be placed on a pushchart to facilitate transport. On arrival at the peeling shed, ice should be added in the containers. This operation should kill the shrimp in a short time, otherwise, if placed alive on the working table they could jump off.
Sorting of shrimp according to size/count is one of the most difficult operations in the whole processing chain. It requires skill which can only be acquired through practice. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that the same workers are always assigned to this operation. Improper sorting will unavoidably lead to financial loss to the producer as the price difference between counts always exists and sometimes is quite substantial. Regarding sorting practices at the Project, it is recommended that shrimp should be delivered to the sorting tables not in bulk but in portions. After sorting, shrimp should be thoroughly washed and chilled quickly. The present practice of placing shrimp in fish boxes and then placing a layer of ice on top should be abandoned. Instead, a thick layer of ice should be put with the boxes first, then a layer of shrimp (about 5–7 cm), another layer of ice, etc.
It is important that the layers of shrimp should be shallow, otherwise, considerable weight loss may occur. This is particularly relevant in the case of shrimp of small size. It is very important that ice used should be well crushed. Large pieces of ice will not chill shrimp properly and can cause damage by crushing it. The use of chilled water is most effective, but it cannot be recommended at this stage, as the shrimp must be transported from Ngomeni to Malindi on very rough road. It is recommended that a ratio of ice and shrimp of at least 1:1 or higher should be used.
Boxes stacked one on top of another should not be overfilled as this will result in damage to the shrimp due to excessive pressure. However, due to rough transport conditions, it is advisable to have fish boxes fully filled. This will prevent excessive movements of the contents and resulting damage.
It is recommended that during transport, boxes with iced shrimp should be covered with tarpaulin or straw mats to avoid excessive heat exchange and melting of ice.
Before packing the shrimp into freezing trays, they have to be de-iced. The simplest way to do this is to empty a box of iced shrimp into a larger container filled with chilled water, and in a short while there should be a natural separation due to the difference in specific gravity. The ice will be floating on top and the shrimp will sink. After easy removal of the ice, the shrimp can be collected gradually using, e.g., a scoopnet.
Where chest freezers are used it should be remembered that they are not designed to freeze but to hold frozen products. Hence their freezing capacity is rather small. Overloading them will cause a very low freezing rate (48 h or more), having a detrimental effect on product quality; in adverse conditions this can even lead to spoilage, particularly of the product close to the lid of the chest.
It is therefore of primary importance that before being placed in the freezer, the product should be reduced in temperature as close to 0°C as possible. It is therefore recommended that after de-icing shrimp should be kept in chilled water and removed in small portions to be weighed and placed in freezing trays. To avoid opening the chest freezer too often, several trays could be accumulated before placing them in the freezer, subject to their being kept on ice. This is the only way to increase effectiveness of the present freezing method. However, with the installation of the freezing plant the situation will definitely improve.
It is strongly recommended that to avoid additional and unnecessary costs, the freezing plant should be installed in the present landing premises of Kenya Fishing Industry Ltd, as discussed in paragraph 4.7. If for various reasons this is not possible, then the shed at the Project site should be extended and converted into a building with walls. It is recommended that the freezing plant should be located next to the present well and that the receiving area for raw material be close to the gate. This will ensure proper product flow and work organization. It is advisable that the Project should in this case purchase a water pump to secure a flowing water supply.
Installation of the freezing plant will not call for changes in handling practices which should remain as described above. The freezing plant will facilitate the freezing operation and allow it to be carried out properly.
Freezing in a plate freezer is a simple operation and does not require great skill but a few things have to be kept in mind to obtain the best results:
freezing trays should be properly filled. Overfilling will cause damage of shrimp due to excessive pressure. Underfilling will reduce contact of shrimp with freezing plates and thus reduce freezing rate;
to avoid damage of freezing trays, the distance between freezing plates should be adjusted. Placing wooden bars of proper thickness between shelves will facilitate this;
as the capacity of the plate freezer will not be large enough to freeze the entire catch from the harvest at once, only shrimp to be immediately frozen should be removed from the chilled environment. The rest should remain chilled until the next load needs to be prepared for freezing;
it may be necessary to glaze shrimp after freezing. If this is required, clean, well-chilled fresh water should be used. Frozen blocks of shrimp should be dipped into water for a short while, then soaked and placed in plastic bags or cartons and put without delay into the freezer store;
a frozen product should be kept at the minimum temperature of - 18°C or lower and increase in temperature should be avoided as far as possible. It should be kept in mind that any increase in temperature will have a detrimental effect on product quality and reduce its storage life. As the Project does not have proper storage facilities the product should be sold without delay. As most likely it will be necessary to transport larger quantities of the frozen shrimp to Mombasa, it is recommended that to facilitate this, the Project should construct insulated containers of about 100 kg capacity. They can be made of plywood and insulated with styrofoam.
It is necessary to teach all the Project staff involved in handling and freezing of shrimp, the basic hygienic requirements, thus an initial two-hour lecture was arranged by the Project, on 22 March, taking advantage of the Consultant's presence. The lecture focused on causes of shrimp spoilage, role of bacteria, personal hygiene, general cleanliness and good housekeeping. The present processing and handling facilities of the Project are very modest, but when it takes over the facilities of the Kenya Fishing Industry in Ngomeni, much more care will be required, and it is recommended that additional similar courses be given in future. It is however not the intention of this report to provide more information on this subject as additional and exhaustive information can be found in relevant codes of practice such as the Recommended International Codes of Practice for:
Shrimp and Prawns CAC/RCP 17-1978
Frozen Fish CAC/RCP 16-1978
and General Principles of Food Hygiene.