SyAqua Continues to Grow Indian Broodstock Market Share Amidst Contraction of Total Broodstock Supply

India closed 2024 with overseas suppliers, and domestic BMCs supply 193,379 broodstock to local hatcheries. This is down by 12% compared to 2023 and down by 30% compared to the peak in 2021. At an average value of around $85 per piece, the Indian broodstock market in 2024 accounted for around $16 million in sales. In this byte, I share the most important observations: 

1. Overall:
   1. The downward trend of broodstock supplies is in line with the perception of Indian stakeholders that production in recent years contracted but not with the relatively stable exports of Indian shrimp. There seems to be a lack of clarity among Indian stakeholders about how to explain this. Some point toward the high-level inventories that Indian exporters had and may be sold and shipped to compensate for a drop in actual shrimp production. Others point towards the possibility that amidst the crisis that the industry was experiencing, hatcheries may have used first-generation broodstock for extended periods or produced second-generation broodstock domestically.
   2. Regarding the main hatchery groups, the L. vannamei PL market remains dominated by Vaisakhi Biomarine, Sapthagiri Group, BMR Industries, and Golden Marine Harvest. None of these represents more than 10% of broodstock supplies. The top four have a combined share of 28% of broodstock supplies. Previously, one of the most prominent players, CP Group, dropped out of the top four. In total, 87 groups were supplied with broodstock.
   3. While Shrimp Improvement Systems (SIS), with 50%, remains the market leader, SyAqua has grown its market share to 33% and has solidified its position in the Indian shrimp industry. Reportedly, SyAqua’s broodstock produces resilient PL in harsh environments and performs well while exposed to diseases common in Indian aquaculture. Hendrix Genetics-Kona Bay’s market share has dropped to 6%. The company has almost entirely halted its supplies of adult broodstock but instead has focussed on supplying its JV BMC with Sapthagiri Group with PPL. The BMC should start supplying adult broodstock to Sapthagiri’s and third-party hatcheries this season.
2. BMCs: In 2024, local BMCs in India received 530,823 PPL from overseas and domestic NBCs. This is triple the amount of 2023.
   1. The main driver of this growth is Hendrix Genetics and Sapthagiri’s BMC,  which imported PPL almost every month and reached 357,663. Despite the BMC, Sapthagiri still imported 16,138 broodstock, primarily from SIS. In 2025, we should see this number drop and see supplies by the BMC increase.
   2. BMR Blue Genetics imported 85,378 PPL. Total imports by the BMC increased 15% year over year. BMR’s hatcheries only rely on 30% of its own BMC (L. vannamei), and the majority of broodstock in 2024 (44%) was sourced from SyAqua (L. vannamei). The remainder was sourced from SIS (L. vannamei) and Unima (P. monodon).
   3. Vaishnavi imported P. monodon PPL in December 2023, July 2024, and again in December 2024. The total in 2024 was 63,868, 18% down from 2023. As it takes six to eight months for PPL to grow into the size required to be transferred to the hatchery, July imports will be supplied to its hatcheries by January/February of the next year, and December imports will be supplied to its hatcheries mid next year.
   4. The RGCA BMC in Andhra Pradesh received 23,914 PPL from the RGCA NBC in the Andaman Islands. These supplies happened in early and mid-2024. The batch supplied in mid-2024 will be supplied as broodstock to hatcheries in early 2025 and cater to this year's first crop.
3. P. monodon:
   1. In 2024, according to the CAA files, 13,222 P. monodon broodstock were supplied to hatcheries in India. This is a drastic 38% drop compared to 2024. However, this drop can be at least partly attributed to the fact that part of this year's shipments for the first season happened only in January 2025.
   2. Vaishnavi Aquatech is responsible for most of the drop. The company supplied 8,380 broodstock from its BMC to its hatcheries in November and December 2023, which were used for the first crop of 2024. Then, it supplied 2,800 broodstock from its BMC to its hatcheries in June 2024 and imported 858 adult broodstock from Moana in Hawaii. The company imported PPL from Hawaii in July and December 2024. These will be supplied to its hatcheries in Q1 and Q2 2025.
   3. Unima (Aquaculture de Mahajambal) supplied five hatcheries in 2024. Besides its JV in India (Unibio), the other hatcheries are BMR, Golden Marine, MAS Aqua Techniks and Vaisakhi Biomarine. Its total supplies reached 6,939 broodstock. Besides supplying adult broodstock, Unibio will also provide Naiplii to Sapthagiri group which will not be maturation but use one of its hatcheries to grow Nauplii to PPL. Having a relationship with several of India’s major hatchery players makes Unima a crucial player in improving availability of affordable P. monodon PL to Indian farmers.
   4. The RGCA BMC supplied early in 2024 broodstock to Tandels hatchery and Vaisakhi. However, it did not provide any broodstock in Q4 2024, so it seems it is not supplying broodstock for 2025’s crop unless these were shipped in January 2025.
   5. Having secured broodstock in Q4 2024, all top four hatchery groups can supply P. monodon PL to their clients for the crop of 2025.

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