February 15, 2005

Vietnam's shrimp poised for global reach

Vietnam is on track to become the world's leading shrimp exporter as the competitiveness of its shrimp industry has been improved substantially, according to leaders in the seafood sector.

Vietnam would likely be a "shrimp king" in the very near future, with its good positioning in the global seafood market and excellent quality, said Nguyen Van Kich, chairman of Vietnam Shrimp Committee.

The color and quality of Vietnam's shrimp are very good following natural breeding methods, while the industry's large-size shrimps outnumber that of other countries, he said. 

The industry's marketing capacity has also been improved a lot, helping raise its competitiveness, Mr. Nguyen said.

Vietnam's shrimp processing capacity is now on par with Thailand, one of the leading shrimp exporters in the world, said Ho Quoc Luc, chairman of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.

This is a far cry from 10 years ago, when Vietnam could not compete with other shrimp exporters like Thailand, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

Ho said that processed shrimp from Vietnam and Thailand share the number one spot in the American seafood market, while Vietnamese shrimps are ahead in Japan.

In January this year, the price of Vietnam's sugpo shrimp in New York was about 10 to 15 cents a pound higher that Thailand's shrimp, according to Mr. Nguyen,

To clinch the coveted world number one spot, Mr. Ho said the industry should consolidate more efforts to increase production and lower shrimp prices while not overlooking safety of the breeding environment and materials.

Mr. Ho added that domestic shrimp producers should expand cooperation with each other in exchanging market information, ensuring stable material sources and updating processing technologies.