Last night, the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA) forwarded a letter to the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service asking that shrimp be added to its eligible list of commodity purchases. This was written by the association on behalf of the domestic shrimp industry.
A bill currently being finalized in the Senate has $450 million set aside for purchases by the Supplemental Food and Nutrition Program. This is in addition to $400 million included in a Phase 2 bill recently passed and approved by Congress to assist with the impact of COVID-19.
This is important because out of all of the commodities included in this program, only two are seafood species: catfish and salmon. If shrimp were to be designated as a commodity food, the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) would be allowed to use its funding to purchase shrimp directly from the U.S. shrimping industry for relief aid.
If approved, this funding could serve as a fall back for excess inventory caused by COVID-19.
The full letter sent to the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service is included below.
Wild American Shrimp will keep you informed on any future updates.
ASPA Letter to the Agricultural Marketing Service
Today — March 24th — is The Great American Takeout Day!