Photo for illustration (Source: baochinhphu.vn)
Many ideas on how to improve the competitive advantages of Vietnam’s shrimp sector were raised at a conference held by the Directorate of Fisheries and the Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) in Can Tho city in mid-November.
At the event, Mr. Tran Dinh Luan, Deputy Head of the Directorate of Fisheries, said that the Mekong Delta accounted for 80% of shrimp production of the whole country, and is a key contributor to the export. However, this sector is facing many challenges: high production costs compared to other countries, most production facilities are small-scale, which have not had strong cohesion, and food and medicine for shrimp haven’t been controlled tightly.
In terms of breeding shrimp, the biggest drawback is the lack of qualified stable breeding. Some kinds of breeding shrimp have to depend on the import market. It is very passive if we fail to buy from distributors. Moreover, many production facilities don’t guarantee biosecurity and quarantine.
Mr. Le Van Quang, General Director of Minh Phu Seafood Corporation, said that the breeding shrimp market is now too topsy-turvy due to unfair competition, with reduction of price to only VND10-20 per breeding shrimp. In the long term, it won’t result in good breeding. In fact, the breakeven price of imported breeding shrimp is at VND75 per shrimp, but they are even sold at VND35 per shrimp when being auctioned for projects.
Mrs. Pham Thi Thu Oanh, Deputy Head of the Bac Lieu provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that it is necessary to have a concentration breeding shrimp production area in the Mekong Delta. In terms of infrastructure, the locality will call upon enterprises to be investors. This area will be a place to research, quarantine and test breeding shrimp and then hand over to enterprises and aquaculture households. Therefore, it will ensure the quantity and quality of breeding shrimp.
Mr. Vo Van Phuc, Director of Vietnam Clean Seafood, said that in recent years, thanks to raising shrimp under Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) standards, Vietnam’s shrimp has been consumed widely in the world, especially in the European Union (EU) and Japan.
For fear of diseases, farmers, raising shrimp in form of extensive farming, usually use antibiotics so they should strictly control these activities.
Other delegates said that to replace the use of antibiotics in shrimp farming, it is necessary to create habits for farmers to use probiotics to prevent diseases, stimulate growth of shrimp and prevent or minimize toxins in ponds.
Particularly, in the coming time, Vietnam’s shrimp sector has to face many technical hurdles posed by importers. Enterprises, providing inputs such as breeding shrimp, food and medicine, have always played a decisive role in value chain of the shrimp sector. If there is an effective solution to reduce the input costs of production, the shrimp sector will have a competitive advantage compared to other countries.
In addition, Chinese traders recently have come to Vietnam to buy shrimp when the market is scarce and they increase the buying price. Therefore, factories have to buy shrimp at high prices for processing; as a result, the finished product increases and some markets refuse to import them. In addition, Chinese traders don’t pay attention to food hygiene, making farmers neglect these regulations. Therefore, the government should have a sanction for traders because they often cause market disruption, affecting factories and farmers.
These are reasons why Vietnam’s shrimp sector meets difficulties in competition with those of other countries. To enhance competitiveness, farmers should be equipped with technical knowledge about aquaculture, close coordination of related authorities and have suitable sanctions for organizations and individuals working illegally./.