Vietnamese shrimp exporters could lose their markets due to the insufficient supply of shrimp, which is partially attributed to direct purchases from local farmers by Chinese traders.
Many shrimp processing companies in the Mekong Delta are working at half of their capacity because of a shortage of shrimp. If the situation doesn’t improve, Vietnamese shrimp exporters may lose market share.
Many shrimp processing companies in the Mekong Delta are working at half of their capacity because of a shortage of shrimp
Vietnam’s biggest shrimp breeding and exporting hub of Cau Mau Province, was estimated to have produced just 134,000 tonnes of shrimp, meeting just 40% of the yearly target.
Nguyen Van Tuan, a resident from Thoi Binh District, said that the prolonged drought had increased water salinity, affecting shrimp development.
Ngo Thanh Linh, General Secretary of the Ca Mau Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, said that Chinese traders have bought more shrimp directly from Vietnamese farmers, leaving exporters struggling.
"Ecuador has been the main raw shrimp supplier for China, but recent earthquakes has led to a sharp fall in their shrimp output. So they’ve been looking for more supplies from Vietnam,” Linh added.
Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, said farmers would obviously sell shrimp to whoever offers higher prices. But if Chinese traders continued to buy shrimp in Vietnam, it would deal a hard blow to the local shrimp processing industry.
Export difficulties
The association’s vice chairman Le Van Quang said that injecting impurities into shrimp has been a thorny issue in Vietnam, which has seriously damaged the country's prestige.
"On my recent business trip to Japan, some of Japanese customers said to me that they did not want to buy Vietnamese shrimp products any more because they found impurities and even pieces of toothpick, and they would instead turn to Indonesia or the Philippines," Quang said.
The rate of returns of Vietnamese seafood shipments also rose in 2015. In only the first nine months of the year, the number of seafood shipments returned due to high antibiotics and micro-nutrient residues, along with other types of contamination, was equivalent to the rate recorded in 2014.
Among them, 27 consignments were rejected by Japan, and similar moves had been taken by authorities in the EU, the US and other overseas markets, the association said, citing a report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The association estimates that Vietnam's shrimp will still be affected by widespread price cuts by competitors, and that exports of seafood to the US, the biggest market for the Southeast Asian country, would continue to face hurdles this year.
