Shrimp exports, a bright spot in January-July economic performance

Shrimp exports, a bright spot in January-July economic performance

Growing in difficulties

According to the Viet Nam Directorate of Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), by the end of July, Viet Nam’s shrimp exports recorded a positive year-on-year growth rate of 12.1% with about US$2 billion in revenue. This is an impressive figure in the current context of the disease taking place complicatedly and upsetting global supply chains.

Tran Van Linh, Chairman of the Thuan Phuoc Seafoods and Trading Corporation, one of the shrimp exports with good results, said that the company exported 3,000 tons of shrimps and shrimp products during the period, up 8% year-on-year, earning over US$31 million, an increase of nearly 6%. Thuan Phuoc’s major markets remained the United States and the European Union (EU). “Processed foods are now well consumed, and products made from shrimps are the strength of our company, so we are not affected by the pandemic,” Linh said.

Multiple measures to maintain shrimp exports until year’s end

Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), stated that despite the positive outlook in the past few months, the sector’s export situation from now until year’s end still depends entirely on the development of COVID-19. 

The pandemic still shows no signs of being brought under control in both the EU and the U.S. With these two markets being the main consumers of Viet Nam’s marine products, the export value of the sector, increasing or decreasing, depends a lot on their disease control results. 

However, Hoe still predicted that Viet Nam’s shrimp exports are likely to reach US$3.8 billion this year.

With such market movement, the Vietnamese shrimp industry should continue to improve its competitiveness and quality to maintain the markets. 

At the same time, in order to facilitate marketing and sales, businesses also need to focus on developing trademarks of their own.

On the other hand, all new information on shrimp prices and global shrimp supply-demand has also been updated on a weekly basis by VASEP through its weekly newsletters and on its website. 

After a long period of being enriched, these contents have contributed significantly to creating the current face of the shrimp industry. 

Given that fact, shrimp trading companies should learn about shrimp-related information from VASEP, especially small-sized businesses and newcomers who have a lot to deal with at the beginning.

                                                                                                By Vien Nhu