October 15, 2011

Mekong Delta's shrimps affected by diseases

From January-September 2011, as many as 81,782 hectares of shrimp breeding areas in the Mekong Delta region were affected by diseases, causing shrimp to die en masse, according to the media.

Soc Trang province is the hardest-hit locality with 28,000 hectares of disease-infected shrimp raising area, the newspaper said, adding that the major factors of the diseases have not yet been found despite various efforts.

Shrimp is listed among export staples of Vietnam, with last year's export revenues of US$2.08 billion. Japan is now the biggest market for Vietnam's shrimp, followed by the US and EU.

The Southeast Asian country currently has over 558,342 hectares of shrimp areas, with Mekong Delta region having the largest raising area.

In 2011, Vietnam expects to produce 403,600 tonnes of shrimp, up 12.8% from 2010.