TOKYO(October 2, 2002)--Nissho Iwai Corporation, together with its subsidiary Seafesta Corp. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Toshihiro Nakano), concluded an exclusive sales contract with NATIONAL PRAWN COMPANY (hereafter called NPC; headquartered in Al-Lith, Saudi Arabia) for shrimp, farm-raised on the Red Sea Coast in the Al-Lith District, Saudi Arabia for export to Japan. Approximately 2,500 tons per annum (in head-less form) will be exported to Japan.

NPC constructed shrimp ponds with a total aquaculture area of 2,250 hectares, using 10 lots on the coast of the Al-Lith District, which stretches for 42 kilometers. The company utilizes a fully integrated production system - from raising/management of parent shrimp, hatching of eggs at its own hatcheries, production of feed at its own feed mill, raising shrimp using such feed, to harvesting and freezing. Thus, all production stages are controlled by NPC, and production is carried out with the keywords of reliability, safety and freshness. The subject area is free from issues which are becoming a concern in Southeast Asian countries, such as the deforestation of mangrove rainforests due to culture pond development. This shrimp culture, which is realized by the intake of water to coastal areas where there was originally nothing but soil, can be called a more eco-friendly shrimp cultivation process compared to those used in other countries.

The type of shrimp to be imported is White Shrimp, which are used in Chinese cuisine and to make tempura and deep fried prawns. The salinity of the culture ponds is about 4.2%, which is higher than that of regular seawater at about 3.5%. The higher salinity not only makes shrimp firm, but also reduces the generation of blue-green alga. Therefore, a stable supply can be expected in quantitative terms.

The Red Sea, which is described as one of the world's best SCUBA diving spots, excels others in the cleanliness of its water. In addition, because there is no river mouth in the district and there are no other industries, the local population is extremely low and as a result, there is no seawater pollution resulting from the discharge of domestic and industrial wastewater. Shrimp culture using such clean seawater minimizes the outbreak of disease.

NPC is a shrimp production/processing company financed by the Al-Rajhi group, a major conglomerate that owns the second largest bank in Saudi Arabia, together with another major food-related conglomerate. Construction of the fully integrated frozen farm-raised shrimp plant, with a well management system, was completed in 2001 at a cost of about US$200 million. A targeted production of 12,500 tons per annum of White Shrimp is scheduled to be raised and shipped.

Under the theme of reliability, safety and health, Nissho Iwai has a background in and is ahead of other trading companies in the import and sales of organic foodstuffs such as soy beans, rice, dried noodles, etc. By adding toxic substance-free White Shrimp as a new product line, the company will continue to promote the import of health food products. Future sales activities are under consideration with big shrimp markets in mind, that is, the American and European markets. Furthermore, Nissho Iwai hopes to handle shrimp for South Korea and other Asian countries in future, focusing on Hong Kong where there is a preference for white shrimp, and looking toward the Chinese market.