(Seychelles News Agency) - A first batch of white shrimps produced locally by the state-owned Islands Development Company (IDC) will hit the Seychelles market on Thursday, said an official of the company.

The public relations and communications manager, Michael Govinden, told reporters on Wednesday that 650kg of the white shrimps produced on Coetivy Island will be on sale only at the Seychelles Trading Company’s hypermarket at Bois de Rose.

“As you are aware, this project is in its experimental phase, which means that we have not yet produced enough to satisfy the demand of the local market,” said Govinden

He added that IDC expects to be able to have fully fledged production for the local market by early next year.

With limited stock available, STC will be putting up a notice to encourage consumers to buy no more than two packets at a time, to ensure everyone can have some.

“We will be selling the white shrimps in four different bundles, with the first being in 400g packets, where the smaller shrimps will sell for SCR96 ($7) and the bigger shrimps will be sold at SCR126 ($10),” explained Stephanie Lafortune, the public relations manager at STC.

The larger packs will be in 800g packets at SCR252 ($19 ) and the other at SCR294 ($22).  

“One of the things that STC and IDC are requesting from consumers is to give us feedback on the taste and quality of the prawns, which will help to ensure better quality in the future,” added Lafortune.

The  IDC has harvested a total of two tonnes of white shrimp, with one tonne being distributed to hotels that had placed orders beforehand, 650kg to STC, and the remaining distributed to the IDC staff.

“By next week, 100kg will also be sent to La Digue, as part of an order by l’Union Estate, where it will be sold to the island’s inhabitants,” said Govinden.

The first batch of prawns was brought to the island late last year from a hatchery in Singapore. There are currently nine ponds on Coetivy being used for the project, where three ponds will be used for white shrimps and another three will be used for black tiger prawns.

The second batch of white shrimp for the local market is expected to hit the shelves in July.