US removes anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese frozen shrimp products

The US Customs and Border Protection has scrapped anti-dumping duties it slapped on Minh Phu Seafood JSC’s frozen shrimp products.

Minh Phu accounts for approximately 20 percent of Vietnam's total shrimp exports. Photo acquired by VnExpress.

The US Customs and Border Protection has scrapped anti-dumping duties it slapped on Minh Phu Seafood JSC’s frozen shrimp products and refunded the levies it had paid.

The company, one of Vietnam’s biggest shrimp processors, announced on February 17 that it had received a communication from the agency on February 11. It will continue to export frozen shrimp to the US.

The company has been refunded the anti-dumping duties it temporarily paid following the October order, VnExpress reported.

On October 13, the agency had concluded that MSeafood Corporation, a subsidiary of Minh Phu, was using shrimp originating from India for export to the US, and imposed the same anti-dumping duties as shrimp exported by India.

The company’s CEO, Le Van Quang, said it had complained to the agency because it had an effective tracking system that proved it was not using shrimp from India for exports to the US.

Its separation and traceability method has been approved by the US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The company has stopped importing shrimp from India despite a shortage and instead itself set up high-tech shrimp farming areas.

It has two such farms in the southern provinces of Kien Giang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau with a total area of 900 hectares.

Vietnam’s earnings from shrimp exports reached US$3.85 billion last year, up 15 percent year-on-year despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Viet Nam News said.

Due to the low price of domestic raw shrimp as of late October, however, breeders were not keen on continuing to breed them, resulting in a shortage in the early days of this year.

Shrimp prices will continue to rise if the market remains the same, according to General Director of the Vietnam Clean Seafood Corporation Vo Van Phuc.

Analysts say 2021 will be favourable for shrimp exports and processing thanks to more orders coming from abroad.

Exporters have suggested adopting a flexible approach to markets and diversifying products. Enterprises have been advised to focus on meeting market demand amid the pandemic.

Secretary General of the Vientam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Truong Dinh Hoe said the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which took effect last August, has opened up opportunities for shrimp exporters

He proposed improving quality to persuade customers to pay higher prices.

Scarce supply would offer an advantage to shrimp exporters and processors, he said, adding that if they failed to assess the global situation and flexibly adjust production, they would face difficulties in finding opportunities this year.