Vietnamese shrimp industry sees bright prospects after Covid-19

Shrimp in Mekong Delta was traded at VND105,000 per kilogram in May (70 shrimp per kilogram). Some companies in Soc Trang province said they have orders with deliveries until the end of Q2.

The shrimp price has regained an upward trend, while supplies from other countries have fallen.

The companies specializing in processing shrimp for export to China have also become busier after a period of interruption as the market has resumed import.

This has helped push small-size shrimp (100-250 shrimp per kilogram) prices up as well. The farmers who have to harvest shrimp soon can avoid a loss and continue farming.

Tran Quoc Tuan, deputy general director of the Vietnam-Australia Group, said farmers began farming at the beginning of Q2 when they heard good news from the Chinese market.

Tuan predicted that the supply of mid- and small-size shrimp may be low in the time to come, and in order to encourage farmers to harvest these types of shrimp, companies need to set reasonable collection prices to ensure profits compared with large-size shrimp.

Export companies are optimistic about the last months of the year. If COVID-19 is contained, the world economy will recover rapidly which will lead to higher demand for shrimp. Even if it lasts a long time and the market demand decreases, the shrimp price will not decrease.

Export companies are optimistic about the last months of the year. If COVID-19 is contained, the world economy will recover rapidly which will lead to higher demand for shrimp. Even if it lasts a long time and the market demand decreases, the shrimp price will not decrease.

This is because the biggest supply sources in the world, including India, Ecuador, Thailand, Indonesia and China, have suffered heavily from Covid-19. The shrimp output in China and India is predicted to decrease by 20-30 percent.

According to the Bac Lieu provincial authorities, 1,000 hectares of shrimp ponds are owned by leading companies in the shrimp industry. Another 1,000 hectares of shirmp ponds apply advanced farming technologies. In addition, 30 local export companies are developing farming areas of their own.

Therefore, soon after market demand increases again, shrimp farming in Bac Lieu will speed up.

Ho Quoc Luc, president of Sao Ta Group, said that opportunities for the shrimp industry are great which need to be exploited to make a breakthrough in the remaining months of the year.

However, he stressed that farmers need to prepare ponds carefully, choose disease-free breeders, and upgrade the biosecurity of farming areas.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), shrimp exports in April and May grew by 6 percent. The total export turnover of the first five months of the year reached $1.2 billion, up by 4 percent.