A project entitled Sustainable and equitable shrimp production and value chain development was launched yesterday in the Mekong delta City of Can Tho.
The Oxfam Vietnam and the International Collaborating Center for Aquaculture and Fisheries Sustainability (ICAFIS) under Vietnam Fisheries Society (VINAFIS) and the European Union officially jointly launched the project.
Small and medium enterprises (SME) processors, shrimp producers and inhabitants in a number of Mekong Delta Provinces will benefit from a project.
The project worth EUR 2.5 million, funded by the European Union aims to promote sustainable economic prosperity and poverty reduction in Vietnam, through improving social and environmental impacts of shrimp value chain development.
Though shrimp production improves the lives of many people in the Mekong delta , the shrimp export turnover decreased drastically last year just reaching US$29 billion, a reduction of 25 percent compared to 2014.
In 2016, it is forecast the exports will be brighter thanks to commercial agreement namely the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the free trade agreement (FTA); yet price reduction and harsh competitiveness will affect the shrimp exports because demand of major markets will slump.
A Oxfarm representative said that the project will improve effects of environmental and social problems during breeding and processing as well as help Vietnamese farmers comply with standards for Vietnamese and international sustainable production regulation.
The project is operational in the Mekong delta provinces of Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau during a period of four years from March 2016 to February 2020.
