At the end of 2013, Vietnam's shrimp farming sectorreached a record of US$3 billion in exports. However, maintaining this outcome in 2014 will be a challenge as there are many obstacles ahead.
Outcomes of white-legged shrimp in 2014 to increase by 20 percent
This figure is forecast by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) about the development prospects of the Vietnam’s shrimp farming industry in 2014. Besides the positive side, the forecast also reflects a concerns of the policy makers when the world’s shrimp supply is larger in 2014, indicating a likelihood of a drop in price. Compared to some of the largest shrimp exporters in the world, the commercial cost of the Vietnamese shrimps still remains high. Mr Tran Van Linh, General Director of Thuan Phuoc Company in Da Nang, said the success rate of the shrimp farming in Vietnam is about 30 percent while in the country, it is 70 percent. On the other hand, the dependence on shrimp seed and food for the shrimp industry in Vietnam of the foreign invested enterprises is another factor, which causes the production costs of shrimp of Vietnam to be pushed up. In June 2013, the same type of shrimp of Vietnam costs Vietnam US$3 to US$5 per kg more than those of India.
The Vietnam’s shrimp output increased in 2013, which is partly due to the increasing areas of the whitelegged shrimp farming, increasing the output up to 280,000 tonnes or by more than 50 percent over the previous year. Another milestone to the success of the shrimp farming industry in 2013 is that on September 20, 2013, the International Trade Commission United States (ITC) voted to the final decision of the Department of Commerce States (DOC) dated August 8, 2013 on the Countervailing Duty (CVD) against the warmwater shrimp from Vietnam. This helps the businesses boost up the shrimp exports to this country.
The peak season of the shrimp leading high price makes the farmers excited and return to the shrimp farms, which had been left empty across the country for a long time. Many local people spontaneously dig new ponds. However, the massive development of the shrimp farming may cause uncontrolled surpluses and losses for both farmers and businesses. This is also the reason that the managers feared the over local supply of the shrimp and in the context of recovery of the the major exporters in some countries will strongly affect the production and export of shrimp of Vietnam in the late 6 months of 2014.
Difficulties in quality control
The favourable market pushing the price that high also leads to overuse of the antibiotics in the shrimp industry and put the easygoing shrimp imported markets under the risks. Therefore, the quality control of the exported shrimps is still required to ensure a sustainability of the shrimp farming. However, this poses challenges to the authorities when the Vietnam’s shrimp industry still relies on spontaneity and a large proportion of shrimp farms in the household level only instead of the large-scale farms with a good investment in the infrastructure of science and technology. The dominance of the whitelegged shrimps, an ease- raising shrimp, will cause an imbalance in the structure of the exports of shrimp. Meanwhile, the prawn products known as the competitive products of Vietnam may be affected.
The concerns are raised by not only the uncontrolled number of the whitelegged shrimp but also the quality of seed shrimps, which are not inspected on the market. According to the General Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, only half of seed shrimps are tested. The rest is unoriginal. The use of unqualified seed shrimps is one of the causes to the losses of the farmers, affecting the sustainable development of shrimp farming in Vietnam.
The big profits of the shrimp exports due to the high price and the winning of the CVD become the highlight of the fishery in 2013. According to Mr Truong Dinh Hoe, Secretary General of VASEP, the results can be maintained sustainably in 2014 when the capacity for quality control is enhanced and the shrimp demands are thriving.
Nguyen Thanh
Đăng ký: VietNam News
