May 2017 Pet Product News International
John Dawes is an international ornamental aquatic industry consultant. He has written and/or edited more than
50 books and has contributed more than 4,000 articles to
hobby, trade and academic publications. He is the editor of
the OFI Journal and a consultant to AquaRealm, the new
trade show scheduled for June 2017 in Singapore.
boatswain a bonus on delivery.
I don’t know how long the fish took to complete
the trip from Singapore to Colombo, or how many
survived the ;ourney. I retell the story merely to
demonstrate ;ust how challenging the process of ex-
porting fish has been from the earliest days. Things
are quite different today, but we are still facing chal-
lenges, exemplified by those highlighted and dis-
cussed at the above-mentioned Sri ;anka conference
and—perhaps most important—during the numer-
ous conversations that occurred ;off conference.;
Sri ;anka is experiencing a slightly better ex-
pansion rate than some other exporting countries,
something that will likely be in;uenced by the gov-
ernment’s keen interest in, and support for, the or-
namental aquatic sector.
The Sri ;ankan authorities’ support for the industry has a long history. I remember, for example,
that on one of my Sri ;ankan visits more than ;;
years ago, the leader of the Opposition Party, with
whom I had a very interesting meeting, emphasi;ed
his party’s commitment to the industry. Interestingly, he subsequently became president of the country and proceeded to provide the support he had
promised at our earlier meeting. There’s perhaps
a lesson to be learned by other exporting countries
and regions.
;n a less positive note, the Sri ;ankan meeting
raised many of the concerns that virtually all other exporting countries are experiencing. One of the
top worries relates to undercutting, which, in turn,
leads to falling prices. Sri ;ankan guppy prices, for
example, have dropped from what they were many
years back;around the ;;-cent mark;to as low as
;;- to ;;-cents today.
According to ;FI president Shane ;illis,
established exporters are being put under
;price pressure; by small, fringe exporters that
buy cheap, poor-quality fish and sell them at
discounted rates.
; These exporters generally have no facility or
knowledge of packing and ;uality control, often
resulting in disastrous conse;uences on arrival,;
;illis said. ; The main concern that the larger ex-
porters have ;and not ;ust Sri ;ankan ones; is that
these small exporters give the industry a bad name
and make it difficult for the established companies
to maintain sustainable pricing.;
To this end, ;illis;through ;FI;urges every-
one to think carefully about whom they do busi-
ness with.
;ther concerns raised in Sri ;anka, but provide a valuable insight into the wider ornamental
aquatic community, included sustainability, animal welfare, technology options to address these
challenges and other related matters. ;owever, far
from seeing these issues as problems, the general
mood within the industry is that they should be
seen as opportunities to continue with the ongoing
development programs already underway.
Among these, training and capacity building
are of fundamental importance in developing and
maintaining the necessary tools with which to face
the challenges. Huge strides also are being made on
the conservation side, with the slogan, ;;uy a Fish,
Save a Tree;;eef,’ becoming ever-more central in
the evolution of the wild-caught sector.
Industry gatherings such as the Sri ;anka conference and the forthcoming A;uarama in ;uang-;hou, ;hina, and A;ua;ealm in Singapore trade
events will provide further forums for discussion,
updating and networking, and will be fully supported by the international community.
;e have come a long way since the ;;;; shipment, and we have overcome numerous challenges, but many still remain and will continue to do so
in the future. Sri ;anka provided valuable insights
and generated a basis for further thought and attention, something that today’s industry wholeheartedly embraces.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to extend my thanks to Shane ;illis and
Paul ;akuwel, president and general secretary of
;FI, respectively, for sharing their thoughts with me.
Guppies, like so many other
ornamentals, face severe price
undercutting from fringe operators.
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