From SeafoodNews on April 26, according to data from the Ecuadorian National Aquaculture Chamber of Commerce, since the 1960s, shrimp has become the backbone of the Ecuadorian economy, and the shrimp industry has provided about 280,000 direct and indirect jobs for Ecuador.

Last year, Ecuador exported 1.06 billion tons of shrimp, breaking all records in the sector.

BBC World Service travels to Ecuador to investigate the state of the multi-million dollar industry.

Businessman Jorge Castro is one of 4,000 local shrimp operators. He has a 200-hectare farm with an annual output of more than 1,300 tons. The farmed shrimp are fed soybeans, fish meal and other mixed nutrients called "balanced".

These shrimps are usually raised for 3-4 months, and then sold to processing plants for selection, packaging and distribution. Generally, the raw shrimp weighs about 20-30 grams, and sometimes it needs to reach the target weight.

In 2014, the price of Ecuadorian shrimp on the international market reached US$3.75 per pound, the highest value so far, and the current price is about US$3.10.

Oil is the South American country's main export commodity in 2022, accounting for 35.5 percent of total exports, according to the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries. Shrimp ranked second, accounting for 23.6%, and it was also the largest non-oil export product.

Today, 1 in 5 shrimp circulating on the global market comes from Ecuador. Ecuadorian shrimp is locally known as "pink gold" because of its lucrative and coveted status.

Boris Bohórquez, head of the Federation of Ecuadorian Aquaculture Farmers, which brings together small and medium-sized farmers in Ecuador, said that in 2022, 59 out of every 100 shrimp produced in Ecuador will be exported to China. China not only taught Ecuador how to farm prawns, but also decided to fate of the Ecuadorian shrimp industry.

According to Boris Bohórquez, before 2014, 60% of Ecuador's shrimp products were exported to Europe and the United States, but since then, China has started to increase the demand for shrimp products and demand larger size/weight shrimp.

Ecuadorian farmers began to adjust their production techniques to meet the new demand. They extended the farming time from 3 months to 4 months and increased the average size of shrimp from 18 grams to about 30 grams.

In this way, Ecuador has consolidated its position on the Chinese market, overtaking its main competitor, India, whose average shrimp size is smaller. Last year, for every 100 shrimp China bought, 70 came from Ecuador and 18 from India. Statistics show that Ecuadorian shrimp exports to China tripled in 2019 compared to the previous year.