ECUADORIAN SHRIMP SETS INDUSTRY BENCHMARK FOR LIVING WAGES

Three shrimp farms, members of the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP), compared their compensation against living wage estimates and successfully passed third-party verification, meeting or exceeding the threshold.

Ecuador, the world’s leading producer and exporter of shrimp, marks a milestone by presenting new evidence that indicates that it is possible to measure, verify, and demonstrate compliance with living wages on shrimp farms, with the launch of a case study developed by the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) in collaboration with IDH, showing that three SSP shrimp farms meet or exceed the applicable living wage benchmarks in their region.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), a living wage is the level of remuneration necessary to ensure a decent standard of living for workers and their families, taking into account national circumstances and the work performed during normal working hours, excluding overtime. According to the Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC), this includes adequate access to food, water, housing, education, healthcare, transportation, clothing, and other essential needs, as well as a provision for unexpected events.

The case study analyzes the measurement of living wages at the Chongón (Corporación Lanec), Cachugran (Omarsa), and Marfrisco (Promarisco) farms, which assessed their compensation structures by comparing workers’ incomes against the cost of living in their local context. The analysis was based on 2024 payroll data and the IDH Salary Matrix tool, which is grounded in the Anker methodology. The results were verified through third-party audits, which the farms successfully passed.

“Today, trust and responsibility are at the center of how people choose their food—and how we at SSP understand shrimp production. The experience of Ecuadorian shrimp offers a lesson for the entire seafood industry: it is possible to provide nutritious, high-quality food while also taking care of people,” said Pamela Nath, Director of SSP. “Product quality is no longer defined only by the product itself, but also by how it is produced—and living wages are part of that standard. This is a path we now know can be followed and, more importantly, one that must be started.”

Likewise, Sonia Cordera, Director of Market Engagement at IDH, stated: “Living wages are becoming an increasingly clear expectation within responsible business and across supply chains. More organizations are making commitments in this area, as demands for transparency around working conditions continue to grow. The SSP case study shows that it is possible to make practical progress on this issue by measuring and managing living wages in a structured way, offering a model that can be replicated both in shrimp aquaculture and across other industries.”

Moreover, José Antonio Camposano, President of the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA), stated: “As the world’s leading shrimp exporter, Ecuador has both the opportunity—and the responsibility—to lead in sustainability, playing an active role in redefining what product quality means today. The SSP farm case study confirms that it is possible to integrate verifiable criteria such as living wages into production, allowing the industry to differentiate its value proposition in markets that increasingly prioritize social well-being.”

Beyond the results, the case study showed that measuring living wages is viable in the Ecuadorian context, supported by a strong labor framework and the availability of data that facilitates this type of assessment. The project also helped strengthen capacities within participating farms and establish a technical foundation for future measurements.

As a next step, SSP will seek to scale this approach and integrate living wages as a formal criteria within its member standards, progressively expanding its application to other stages of the value chain.