Honduran shrimp producers are expecting to see flat production in 2021, after harvesting their highest yield in 10 years.

Production last year came in at 104.6 million pounds, a near 12 percent increase over 2019, when production totaled 93.6 million pounds.

Figures for 2020 are all the more impressive because the Central American nation had to contend not only with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also fallout from devastating hurricanes Eta and Iota, which left more than 150,000 people homeless in November.

"Our expectations for 2021 are similar to the results obtained in 2020, taking into account that the previous year there was a good amount of rainfall," Javier Amador, executive director of Honduras's shrimp producers trade body Andah, told IntraFish.

Though Honduras has around a dozen registered shrimp exporters, Grupo Granjas Marinas, which produced 45.6 million pounds of shrimp, is the largest producer by far, accounting for 45 percent of the total.

The industry is made up of approximately 420 shrimp farming operations covering around 24,500 hectares of land. The industry accounts for some 150,000 direct and indirect jobs -- more than half women.

Though the sector has traditionally counted the European Union as its most important importer, in recent years Taiwan has risen to become the largest importer of Honduran shrimp.

Shrimp

Honduran shrimp production reaches 10-year high despite hurricanes, pandemic