Vietnamese shrimp exporters seek to expand markets

Vietnamese shrimp exporters seek to expand markets

Shrimp harvesting in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese shrimp processors and exporters should take advantage of a sharp fall in global supply caused by the early mortality syndrome (EMS) to seek and expand their markets, said Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Nguyen Huu Dung.

According to VASEP, the increasing demand of shrimp in the US has pushed up the shrimp prices in India, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, which are major farming countries, in recent times.

Apart from taking measures to expand export markets, enterprises should strictly manage their supply chains to proactively tackle the imposition of antidumping duties on Vietnam ‘s shrimp products from foreign markets as well as control the quality of products, Dung added.

In the first eight months of 2014, the shrimp export made up 50 percent of Vietnam’s seafood export value, up 8.8 percent compared to the same period last year.

During the period, the export to the Republic of Korea, Vietnam ‘s fifth largest shrimp importer, increased by 115 percent year-on-year, while that to the European Union (EU) nearly doubled.

Nguyen Quang Huy, Vice Chairman of the My Thanh Shrimp Association of the Mekong Delta province Soc Trang said it is not arduous to seek new markets for Vietnamese shrimp products, especially when key farming countries such Mexico, Thailand and India are meeting with difficulties in production.

Vietnamese enterprises need to make the most of the situation to raise their market share in existing markets as well as look for new ones, he noted.

Statistics from the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that the farming area strongly increased in almost localities across the country, especially in the Mekong Delta provinces.

In the last nine months, the growing area was 663,000 ha, up 5.2 percent against the same period last year. The total output reached 395,000 tonnes, representing a year-on-year increase of 50 percent.

According to VASEP, the shrimp export turnover in 2014 will likely exceed 3.5 billion USD if diseases are well controlled and good sales to markets are maintained.-VNA

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