Myanmar seafood exports reach US$725M in 2024-25
Plans to expand processed seafood production could increase foreign earnings.
MYANMAR – Myanmar recorded seafood exports valued at approximately US$725 million in the 2024-25 financial year, according to industry figures.
Taninthayi Region, the leading exporter of saltwater fish products, earned US$303.628 million from seafood exports during the same period, including US$30.562 million from saltwater shrimp.
The Taninthayi Region Fisheries Federation reported that the income from shrimp exports is expected to rise in the current financial year compared with last year.
Secretary U. Thet Soe said Panamei white shrimp are exported to China and Japan by sea, with prices ranging from US$5,000 to US$6,000 per tonne, depending on shrimp size.
He added that while wild shrimp catches have declined, farmed shrimp operations continue to function normally, with white shrimp sent to China after boiling and to Japan after freezing to meet buyer preferences.
Last year, the region earned over US$30 million from saltwater shrimp exports, and officials anticipate higher revenue this year due to increased farmer numbers.
Panamei white shrimp are cultivated in Kawthoung, Myeik, and Dawei districts, where four million postlarvae are stocked in a two-and-a-half-acre pond and harvested after three months.
Shrimp numbers tend to drop during the rainy season because of reduced water salinity and increase during summer when salinity levels rise, affecting production cycles.
Officials said further opening the market to Panamei white shrimp could encourage more farmers to raise larger quantities, creating opportunities to export other species, such as live lobster and mantis shrimp, which are frozen for export.
The Federation noted that the Taninthayi Region could significantly increase revenue by producing and exporting finished seafood products rather than raw exports alone.
Such a move could also support the creation of an international-level fish auction market and industrial zone in Myeik, capable of handling seafood processing to meet global standards.
The development of these facilities is expected to expand production capacity and generate additional foreign income for both the state and local fisheries entrepreneurs.
If implemented, these measures could help Myanmar capture a larger share of the regional seafood market while improving value-added production in the country.
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