Prices of black tigers are still soaring, as they have been in recent years, as a significant lack of product takes its toll on the industry.

Buyers in traditional EU markets continue to be willing to pay, but a question mark hangs over how long this will continue, Heiko Lenk, CEO at Bangkok-headquartered Lenk Frozen Foods Asia, told IntraFish.

"Nowadays, black tiger prices are sky high and I don’t see any scope as to why they would come down,” he said.

Compared with five years ago, around 80 percent of the aquaculture area once dedicated to black tiger farming, mainly in India and Vietnam, has today switched to vannamei.

“Black