Seafood
Indonesian vannamei shrimp
Vannamei is farmed, and that changes the paperwork. Because it is not wild-caught, the European Union's catch certificate regime does not reach it. What replaces that question is residues: what went into the pond is what a destination laboratory will look for, and it is decided long before the shrimp is processed.
How it leaves the country.
- Presentation
- Head-on shell-on, headless shell-on, peeled and deveined, cooked. Each step moves yield and labour from your side to the plant's.
- Freezing
- Block frozen or individually quick frozen. IQF costs more and behaves differently in a kitchen, so it belongs in the specification rather than in a conversation.
- Count size
- Shrimp is bought by count per unit weight. The convention differs by market, so write the unit out rather than trusting that both sides mean the same thing.
How it is graded.
There is no national grade table. A shrimp contract is a count size, a presentation, a glazing percentage and a residue standard, and the last of those is the one that stops containers.
- What to specify
- Count size and the unit it is counted in, presentation, freezing method, glazing percentage, and the residue standard of your market.
- Residues
- Antibiotic residues are the recurring reason farmed shrimp is rejected at import. The answer is farm-level control, and it is settled before the shrimp reaches the plant.
- The plant's system
- HACCP running at the processing establishment is what the export health certificate rests on.1
How it is packed.
- Cold chain
- Reefer container at a temperature named in the contract, held end to end. A break shows up in texture and drip loss rather than in the paperwork.
- Glazing
- The ice layer forms part of the shipped weight, so the percentage is part of the price. Put it in writing and check it on arrival.
Where it grows.
Lampung
Sumatra
One of the largest farming areas in the country, with processing capacity built around it.
East Java
Java
Dense pond and processing cluster, close to Surabaya and its export routes.
South Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Extensive and semi-intensive farming, and the origin most often paired with traditional pond systems.
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.
- Export health certificate
- Issued by the Indonesian competent authority against the public health requirements of the destination, and travelling with the consignment.1
- Approved establishment number
- For the EU, the processing plant has to already appear on the approved list. This is a supplier qualifying question rather than a shipping detail.1
- Certificate of analysis
- Residue testing on the lot that shipped, against the standard your market applies.
- Certificate of origin
- Which form applies depends on the destination and on the preference scheme in force between it and Indonesia.
Questions buyers ask.
Does farmed shrimp need a catch certificate?
No. The European Union's catch certificate regime addresses illegal fishing and applies to wild-caught product. Farmed shrimp follows a different evidence trail, though the health certificate and the approved establishment requirements apply just the same.
What actually gets shipments rejected?
Antibiotic residues, more often than anything else. It is a farm problem rather than a plant problem, which is why the useful checks happen upstream of the processor and why a supplier who cannot describe their farm chain is a risk regardless of how good the plant looks.
Block frozen or IQF?
IQF costs more per kilo and saves labour and waste in a kitchen, so it usually wins for foodservice and loses for further processing. Decide before you ask for prices, because the two are not comparable.
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
- 1Entering the European market for fresh tuna. CBI, Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Checked 3 August 2026.