July 28, 2011

Vietnam faces severe shortage of shrimps for export

Vietnam's seafood processing industry is facing an acute shortage of shrimps and currently operating at only 40% capacity in the southernmost province of Ca Mau.

Ly Van Thuan, General Secretary of Seafood Processing and Export Association in the province stated that processing plants in and outside the province were scrambling to buy more shrimps to meet export targets. Now, this acute shortage has sky-rocketed the price of shrimps by VND60,000-70,000 (US$2.92-US$3.41) a kilogram.

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the province revealed that the Perkinsus parasite was the cause of the massive dead oyster culch in the province recently. Farmers have now been asked to halt breeding and wind up the present harvest.

Ca Mau Province has so far suffered 413 hectares of dead oyster culch, causing damages of VND30 billion (US$1.5 million).