May 24, 2013

 

Vietnamese shrimp farmers reluctant to resume farming despite high demand

 

 

Despite recent growing demand from overseas markets and a local shortage, which have pushed prices up, shrimp farmers have been unwilling to resume farming in the Mekong Delta.

 

As the global market has been picking up this month, shrimp material prices have significantly bounced back as well -- prices of tiger shrimp and white-legged shrimp, for example, have climbed by over 20% on-year, informed Nguyen Van Kich, general director of Cafatex Corporation in Hau Giang Province.

 

Meanwhile, output has dropped and targets have not been achieved, said Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

 

There is no updated data yet on shrimp exports, but according to Hoe, the price increases point to a demand that is improving in foreign markets as well as a decline in material supplies in Vietnam, the newspapers reports.

 

"The mortality rate at shrimp farming areas in Thailand has amounted to nearly 50%; shrimp death still remains a headache in Vietnam while supply in India is minimal and supply in China can only meet its domestic demand... These factors have led to a global undersupply and price hikes," noted Kich.

 

Thailand and Vietnam are the two major shrimp suppliers to Japan, and Japan is now importing shrimp exclusively from Vietnam in light of the current shrimp disease outbreaks plaguing Thailand, he added. As far as his company's exports, Kich noted that this is not the peak exporting season, but the number of export contracts that Cafatex has concreted since April has gone up considerably compared to the same period in 2012.

 

Despite this and rising shrimp material prices recently, however, which are expected to bring in lucrative profits, farmers have remained disinterested and many farms remain abandoned due to financial constraints and disease outbreak concerns.

 

In March 2013, Vietnam made US$182.4 million in shrimp exports, up 2.3% from March 2012. Japan was the leading consumer with US$53.6 million, up 16.8% and accounted for 29.4% of sales, with first quarter imports of US$107.5 million, down 5.3%.

 

Trade with the US was down 17.8% to US$31.4 million in March, occupying 17.3% of sales. In first quarter, sales of US$87.7 million showed a drop of 2.8% and represented 20.7% of the market.

 

China & Hong Kong imported US$21.8 million in March, up 7.3% and taking up 11.9% of sales, while in first quarter the figure was US$61.5 million, 20.5% higher and taking up 14.5% of the market.

 

The EU imported US$23.2 million in March, down 6.6% and representing 12.7% of sales; in first quarter, the EU imported US$56.6 million worth, down 5.2% and occupying 13.3% of the market.

 

Black tiger shrimp was the main export in first quarter at US$230.7 million, representing 54.3% of exports. White-leg shrimp followed at US$154 million, representing 36.3% of exports.