FOCUS: Koi virus sends chill over Singapore koi hotels

Asian Economic News, Jan 12, 2004

SINGAPORE, Jan. 6 Kyodo

An obsession with the beauty and grace of Japanese ornamental carp, koi, and a land shortage, has spawned ''koi hotels'' in Singapore, but the operators of the ''hotels'' fear their business will be wiped out if Japan fails to control the spread of a virus threatening the fish.

Koi hotels, basically sprawling koi farms of concrete ponds that koi owners can rent to keep their fish, are virtually unheard of in other parts of the world, but in this small island state, where most people live in cramped high-rise housing, koi hotels are a flourishing business.

Koi, which are seen as auspicious symbols by Singapore's predominantly Chinese population, have long adorned the ponds in the compounds of bungalows owned by Singapore's wealthier families, but with rising affluence many middle class Singaporeans have also aspired to own the fish.

And they have turned to koi hotels to provide the ponds to rear their fish, which they visit on weekends.

Now, there are eight koi farms in Singapore, most of which provide ''hotel services.''

A koi owner pays a monthly rental, often about S$600 (US$353) for an 80 ton pond, where the owner keep about 30 fish.

Staff members at the hotel help feed and care for the fish, although the rental fee does not include food or the cost of any medication.

But the outbreak of ''koi herpes virus'' (KHV) among black edible carp in Japan late last year has caused a in Singapore because Japan is a major source of ornamental koi, which can cost from S$100 to more than S$100,000.

''I can't sleep because KHV might thrive in hot weather in Singapore. I hope Japan can control it. If they can't control it, a lot of Singapore's koi hotels will have to close down. Many customers keep their koi here and if the virus spreads to their fish, it will be disastrous'' said Pay Bok Sing, managing director of Nippon Fish Farm Trading, one of Singapore's biggest koi farms and hotels.

But some, such as Singaporean koi dealer Max Ng, are undeterred.

Ng, who is now developing Singapore's biggest koi farm and hotel, said he is going ahead with his plans.

The S$4.5 million farm, which is expected to be completed in June, boasts 90 ponds spanning 4 hectares.

''We want to increase our percentage share of sales in the local retail market. We are also looking at the region because the koi market is growing in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia,'' Ng said.

Japan is a small source of carp imports for Singapore, with only 28,000 fish coming from Japan, but the carp that comes from Japan are of high-grade varieties such as ''nishiki.''

Singapore is also a major re-exporter of carp.

Last year, it bought 1.3 million carp from Malaysia, its biggest supplier, and 169,000 from Thailand, with smaller numbers coming from China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The carp are then generally re-exported to Europe and the United States.

While the Singapore government has stopped short of imposing an outright ban on imports of koi from Japan, it has slapped on tight restrictions, requiring importers to quarantine the fish on arrival in Singapore and to wait for confirmation from laboratory tests to ensure they are not contaminated with KHV.

They have to destroy the whole batch if any of the fish is found to be infected.

Many of Singapore's koi importers put off buying trips to Japan during the peak winter season for buying koi after news of the KHV outbreak among the black edible carp.

Many dealers said they are also losing money because the price of the fish has plunged more than 30% after the KHV outbreak in Japan. There is also concern they will miss out on the opportunity to buy and sell koi to Singaporeans during the Chinese New Year holidays this month, which is traditionally a peak time for more affluent Chinese to buy koi.

''If any fish we import were to test positive for the virus, the whole batch will be destroyed, our reputation will be affected and the whole farm will be ruined very fast,'' said Pay.

He usually visits Japan about two or three times a year between September and December, visiting about 20 different farms in Izawa, Tokyo, Niigata, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Okagawa and buying 5,000 to 6,000 koi with a total value of S$50,000 to S$80,000 during the winter.

But he managed to purchase only 2,000 koi during his last trip in September.

The koi virus outbreak is a new worry for the Singaporean koi industry, which has already been hurt by weaker demand due to Singapore's ailing economy and the recent craze over other varieties of ornamental fish, such as the ''flowerhead'' or ''luohan'' over the past two years and now, the arowana.

Pay recalled with a tinge of horror an outbreak of another koi disease in 1996. The outbreak forced 30% of the dealers to wind up their business and Pay lost about 900 of 1,000 fish he imported to the virus in two weeks.

Pay thinks ''koi hotels'' will shrink in size as virus outbreaks among carp take their tolls on the industry.

His 2.7 hectare farm has 300 ponds, off which, before the koi viral outbreaks in recent years, 200 served as koi hotels.