Shrimp export turnover continues sliding

Men show shrimp cultivated in a hi-tech shrimp farming zone owned by Viet Uc Corporation in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu – Photo: Trung Chanh

CAN THO – The shrimp export volume nationwide in the year up to October had slumped by nearly 6% year-on-year to some US$3 billion, with up to seven consecutive months suffering a decline in shrimp exports, according to a report released by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.

This year, local shrimp exporters only enjoyed a positive result in shrimp exports in January and March, while the export volume in February was the same as that of last year.

Last month alone witnessed a 17.3% decline in shrimp export turnover, at over US$340 million, against the same period last year.

Meanwhile, throwing back to last year, only one month during the given period recorded a drop in shrimp export volume versus the year-ago figure.

In particular, shrimp export turnover in the country hit some US$200 million in January 2017, which was US$20 million lower than in 2016, while the volume in March last year was equivalent to that of 2016.

Addressing a round-table meeting on seafood held last week, Le Van Quang, chairman of Minh Phu Seafood Corporation, attributed the fall in shrimp export turnover to unfavorable conditions in the United States and Canada. In particular, the snowstorm early this year caused shrimp consumption in these countries to slump, resulting in an excessive supply of shrimp.

Further, China tightened controls on cross-border shrimp trade, so India, Ecuador and Indonesia failed to export shrimp to the country, increasing their own shrimp inventory, stated Quang.

Moreover, the demand for shrimp consumption is typically low during the first months of the year when countries such as India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are entering the shrimp harvesting season. Both shrimp farmers and processors want to sell shrimp at this time, causing the shrimp prices to dip accordingly, Quang added.

Meanwhile, Minh Phu Company, one of the local major shrimp exporters, has invested in antibiotic testing labs at the rate of some VND10 billion each since large shrimp buyers including the United States, Japan and the European Union have imposed more stringent controls on antibiotic residue in shrimp products, thus hiking the shrimp export prices and reducing the competitiveness of Vietnamese shrimp products on the world market.