As a result of a substantial decline in exports and a surplus of inventory, the prices of raw shrimp in the Mekong Delta have experienced a sharp drop.
Amid difficulties in export markets, significant efforts are required for Vietnam to meet its goal of US$4.3 billion in shrimp export revenue this year, said Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of the VASEP.
Recently, seafood exports in the Mekong Delta have seen many bright spots and impressive growth. Despite a deceleration lately, export enterprises have affirmed that they would strive to overcome difficulties, achieving a seafood export turnover of US$11 billion in 2022 - a record milestone for Vietnam's seafood industry.
Vietnam raked in US$9.5 billion from exporting aquatic products in the first 10 months of 2022, up 34 percent year-on-year, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reported.
The Mekong Delta is the main shrimp farming and exporting area of the country. Despite facing difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic, shrimp processing enterprises still strive to maintain operations to ensure export orders, at the same time, create jobs and stabilize the consumption of raw shrimp.
Despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the initiative from the beginning of the year and the efforts of relevant sectors, associations, and business community, seafood exports have seen a breakthrough, with shrimp products posting impressive growth.
Despite the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, enterprises in the Mekong Delta recently have promoted the processing of high-value seafood products to increase their exports to many markets around the world. Seafood exports are showing signs of recovery and opportunities for enterprises to accelerate to finish their plans in the last months of the year.
Minh Phu Seafood Joint Stock Company said that it would appeal against the decision of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the conclusion that frozen shrimp products exported by the company to the US market were subject to duties following the regulations on anti-dumping duty on Indian shrimps.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many large shrimp importers of Ca Mau Province have temporarily halted, reduced, and rescheduled orders, forcing shrimp enterprises in the province to temporarily store goods in large quantities.
Shrimp exports reached US$1.5 billion in the first six months of 2020, up 5.7 percent over the same period last year, reported Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
The EU has always been the second-largest market of Vietnam's aquatic export. When the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) takes effect, aquatic exports to the EU are expected to grow robustly.
Import tariffs on seafood exported into the EU from Vietnam will be reduced to zero percent as of August 1 this year when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement officially takes effect.
Since the beginning of this year, prolonged hot weather and saltwater intrusion have caused disadvantages for shrimp-farming areas in the Mekong Delta. Besides, the Covid-19 pandemic has also affected the export of shrimps, leading to a decline in export turnover.
According to the latest statistics of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, seafood exports in March this year were estimated to drop by nearly 20 percent compared to the same period last year, merely reaching US$549 million.
In recent days, the prices of material shrimps, especially giant tiger shrimps, dropped sharply, causing hundreds of thousands of shrimp-farming households in the Mekong Delta to face difficulties while shrimp export enterprises were also hurt as they could not export their products, making inventory higher and higher.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), due to impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, most enterprises have suffered a decline of 35-50 percent in export orders as they were canceled and delayed or faced a shortage of raw materials.
The export of shrimps is the advantage of provinces in the Mekong Delta. However, since the outbreak of the Covid-19, the export of shrimps has faced several challenges.