Insights from AP report on how shrimp farmers are being exploited as supermarkets push for low prices – Winnipeg Free Press

BANGKOK (AP) — A new investigation released Monday that focuses on three of the world’s largest shrimp producers claims that major Western supermarkets are reaping windfall profits and their aggressive pursuit of ever-lower wholesale prices is causing misery for people at the bottom of the supply chain.

The regional analysis of the industry in Vietnam, Indonesia and India, which supply about half of the shrimp in the world’s four largest markets – the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Japan – is based on research by an alliance of NGOs. It has seen a 20-60% decline in revenue from pre-pandemic levels as producers struggle to meet pricing demands by reducing labor costs.

In many places this has led to unpaid and underpaid work due to longer working hours, wage insecurity due to fluctuating tariffs and many workers not even receiving a low minimum wage.

Supermarkets linked to establishments where labor exploitation has been reported include Target, Walmart and Costco in the United States, Sainsbury’s and Tesco in the United Kingdom, and Aldi and Co-op in Europe.

The regional report included more than 500 face-to-face interviews with workers in their native languages ​​in India, Indonesia and Vietnam – published separately as country-specific reports – supplemented by secondary data and interviews from Thailand, Bangladesh and Ecuador.

What did the researchers find out?

In Vietnam, researchers at the Hawaii-based Sustainability Incubator found that workers who peel, gut and devein shrimp typically work six to seven days a week, often in rooms kept extremely cold to keep the product fresh .

About 80% of those who process shrimp are women, many of whom get up at 4 a.m. and return home at 6 p.m. Pregnant women and new mothers can stop an hour earlier, the report said.

In India, researchers at the Corporate Accountability Lab found that workers are subjected to “dangerous and abusive conditions.” Highly saline water from newly constructed hatcheries and ponds, contaminated with chemicals and toxic algae, also contaminates the surrounding water and soil.

Unpaid work prevails, including wages below the minimum wage, unpaid overtime, payroll deductions for labor costs and “significant” debt bondage, the report said. Child labor was also found, with girls as young as 14 and 15 recruited for peeling work.

In Indonesia, three nonprofit research organizations have found that wages have fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic and now average $160 a month for shrimp workers, below the Indonesian minimum wage in most of the largest shrimp-producing provinces. Shrimp peelers must routinely work at least 12 hours a day to meet minimum targets.

What do the supermarkets say?

The Swiss cooperative said it has a “zero tolerance” policy for labor law violations and that its producers “receive fair and market prices.”

Germany’s Aldi did not specifically address the pricing issue, but said it uses independent certification systems to ensure responsible sourcing of farmed shrimp products and will continue to monitor the allegations.

“We are committed to fulfilling our responsibility to respect human rights,” Aldi said.

Sainsbury’s referred to a comment from industry group the British Retail Consortium, which said its members are committed to sourcing products at a “fair, sustainable price” and that the wellbeing of people and communities in supply chains is fundamental to their purchasing practices.

The Vietnam Seafood Exporters and Producers Association released a statement calling the allegations in the report “unfounded, misleading and damaging to the reputation of Vietnam’s shrimp exports,” citing the government’s labor policies.

The NGO’s report emphasizes that the use of middlemen to purchase the shrimp obscures the true sources of origin of the shrimp offered in Western supermarkets, so many retailers may not adhere to the ethical obligations they have when sourcing shrimp have been received.

Only about 2,000 of the 2 million shrimp farms in major producing countries are certified by either the Aquaculture Stewardship Council or the Best Aquaculture Practices ecolabel, making it “mathematically impossible for certified farms to produce enough shrimp per month to supply all supermarkets.” boast a commitment to purchasing certified shrimp,” the report said.

What can be done?

U.S. policymakers could use antitrust and other existing laws to establish oversight that ensures fair prices at Western retailers rather than imposing punitive tariffs on suppliers, says Katrin Nakamura of Sustainability Incubator, who authored the regional report.

In July, the European Union adopted a new directive requiring companies to “identify and address the adverse impacts of their actions on human rights and the environment within and outside Europe.”