VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s two biggest seafood-export earners are on opposite sides of the coin, as some shrimp processors have been forced to run at one-third capacity, while a focus on quality has boosted tra fish exports.
Shrimp and tra fish made up nearly 70% of Vietnamese seafood exports last year. Exports have been growing this year but processors now face a shortage of shrimp from farmers. In the first half of this year, exported shrimp prices increased by 84% in France, 20% in Japan and 7% in the U.S.
Truong Dinh Hoe, secretary general of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said many factories in the Mekong Delta and the central region are processing at 30-50% capacity because of the shrimp shortage. The shortage is due to bad weather, seasonality and increasing demand.
Only a small number of shrimp processors and exporters in the country own their own shrimp farms, preferring to buy from private shrimp farmers.
“Shrimp prices are unstable compared to other export products like tra fish. Shrimps are very sensitive to weather change, environment and diseases, which is why processors like to pass the buck to farmers,” Hoe said.
Since February many shrimp factories have stopped working, as El Nino weather conditions have affected the shrimp season. While they wait for the next shrimp harvest, some factories have switched to processing imported shrimps and changed business strategies.
Tran Van Linh, director of Thuan Phuoc Seafoods and Trading Corporation in Danang City said the severe shortage in the Central region forced him to sign bigger contracts.
“Big contracts mean we can pay farmers more and boost our competitiveness,” he said. The shift in focus has helped him maintain 60-70% of capacity at the factory.
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