Seafood
Indonesian black tiger shrimp
Black tiger is the large striped shrimp native to the region, farmed in Indonesia mostly in extensive brackish ponds rather than at intensive density. That produces a bigger firmer shrimp, a higher price, and a supply that moves with the season rather than arriving evenly all year.
How it leaves the country.
- Head-on shell-on
- The presentation that sells the shrimp visually, and the one Japanese and European buyers pay most for. Also the heaviest to freight per kilo of meat.
- Headless shell-on
- The volume export form. Freight efficient and still shows the striped shell on the plate.
- Peeled and deveined
- Processed for convenience, at a labour cost and with more handling. The stripe, which is much of what you paid for, disappears.
- Cooked
- Blanched or fully cooked before freezing. A separate plant requirement and a separate specification.
How it is graded.
Graded by count per unit weight, and the count is most of the price. What differs from vannamei is that the large counts genuinely exist here, which is the whole commercial reason to buy it.
- Count size is the proposition
- Black tiger reaches sizes vannamei does not. If you are not buying a large count you are paying a premium for nothing.
- Extensive ponds, uneven supply
- Lower density, sometimes traditional tambak alongside milkfish. That means less medication pressure and it also means volume that varies with the season.
- Residues, still
- Lower stocking reduces the reasons to medicate, which is a tendency rather than a guarantee. The analysis belongs on the shipped lot exactly as it does for vannamei.
- Glaze percentage
- The water added at freezing. It is weight you paid for, and on a premium shrimp the difference between ten and twenty per cent is real money.
- Melanosis and shell condition
- Black spotting from enzymatic browning after harvest. It is cosmetic and it destroys the visual proposition, which on this species is the product.
How it is packed.
- Block or individually frozen
- IQF costs more per kilo and saves labour and waste in a kitchen. Decide before comparing prices, because the two are not comparable.
- Reefer, with the trace
- Temperature recorded end to end, and the recording becomes part of the goods in any dispute.
- Master cartons with lot coding
- Tying cartons back to production, which is what a recall depends on and what an approved establishment is audited on.
Where it grows.
South Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Extensive brackish ponds, often traditional tambak, and a long-standing shrimp and milkfish culture.
East Java
Java
Pond farming with processing and the best container access in the country.
Lampung
Sumatra
A major shrimp region with processing capacity and its own port at Panjang.
West Papua
Papua
Wild-caught and pond production in the east, with longer domestic legs before a container port.
Choosing between this and something else.
Origins with a protected name.
Names the trade contracts on, most of them on the Indonesian register of geographical indications.
Documentation, where applicable.
- EU approved establishment
- The processing plant has to be on the destination's approved list before a single carton can enter.
- Health certificate
- Issued by the Indonesian competent authority against the destination's requirements for fishery products.
- Certificate of analysis
- Antibiotic residues and microbiology on the shipped lot, plus whatever the destination adds.
- HACCP plan
- A processed food from an approved plant, so the documented system and its records are examined.1
Questions buyers ask.
Why is supply so uneven?
Because extensive pond farming follows the season rather than a production schedule, and stocking depends on wild or hatchery juveniles at particular times. Buyers used to vannamei arriving evenly all year find black tiger frustrating for structural reasons rather than commercial ones.
Is it safer than vannamei on residues?
Lower stocking density reduces the pressure to medicate, which makes problems less likely rather than impossible. Both need analysis on the shipped lot, and a supplier who cannot describe their farm chain is the risk on either species.
What is melanosis and does it matter?
Black spotting caused by an enzyme reaction after harvest. It is harmless and it ruins the appearance, which on a shrimp bought to be seen is the entire value. It is controlled by handling speed and treatment at harvest, so it is a farm and landing question.
What does your service cost?
Five per cent of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory. A factory audit starts at $250 depending on location. We work with orders from $10,000 per shipment.
Tell us what you need.
Give us the specification and the destination port. We come back with producer options and an indicative price. Our fee is 5 % of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory.
Sources
- 1General principles of food hygiene and the HACCP system. Codex Alimentarius, FAO and WHO. Checked 3 August 2026.