July 25, 2012

 

Vietnam shrimp farms affected by disease outbreaks

 

 

Vietnam's shrimp harvests are affected by disease outbreaks, a problem following the issues of low prices and declining demand from export markets.

 

Diseases killing shrimps in Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau and Soc Trang provinces, among others, include hepatopancreas caseation disease and "marine ich" or white spot disease, probably caused by environmental changes in the summer season, according to the Directorate of Fisheries.

 

More than 13,000 hectares of shrimp ponds in Soc Trang -- over 40% of the total area -- were destroyed while Tra Vinh suffered a loss of 10,000 hectares of shrimps. About 10,000 shrimps in 7,000 hectares of shrimp ponds in Bac Lieu province were also killed by the diseases, the directorate informed, VNS reports.

 

A report by the Bac Lieu Department of Agriculture and Rural Development states that local authorities in the affected provinces were offering assistance to shrimp farmers to pour chlorine over lakes and ponds to kill the disease-causing germs.

 

In addition, the government is planning to provide shrimp farmers with financial support. One plan details an investment of US$1.8 million to help Bac Lieu's shrimp farmers.

 

Farmers are also facing ferocious price competition from foreign countries: Shrimp imports as high as 400 tonnes a day are entering Bac Lieu province from Thailand. Moreover, Thai shrimp is being sold there at a price 40% lower than that of domestically raised shrimp, reads the report by the Bac Lieu Department.

 

Tiger prawns (Penaeus monodon) offered by Thailand are going for US$1 per kilogramme less than the same prawn grown in Ca Mau and Kien Giang.

 

The Directorate of Fisheries said the low worldwide demand for shrimp caused by the economic downturn has put the local shrimp export sector in a difficult position.

 

Au Vung, a seafood export company, said it was having trouble selling its product Japan, a market which used to account for over 20% of the company's total annual sales overseas.

 

This is largely because Japan has been implementing stricter measures to keep antibiotic residues from entering its food supply. This has made it very difficult for Vietnamese shrimp to penetrate the Japanese market because of the technical barriers applied by management agencies against residues of trifluralin, enrofloxacin, and ethoxyquin, VietNamNet Bridge reports.

 

The company also informed that the price of locally grown shrimp was currently going down so as to meet the market.