Rising shrimp exports boost industry growth
Rising shrimp exports boost industry growth
Shrimp breeders from central and southern provinces are pleased that exports and prices are on the rise as the local tra fish industry had been in troubled waters.
Over the last two weeks, shrimp have been selling between VND190,000 (for 20gr shrimp) and VND320,000 (for 50gr shrimp) per kg in the Mekong Delta.
Ngo Thi Hau from Phuoc Long Commune in Bac Lieu Province said shrimp prices were VND50,000 per kg higher than last year.
Damages caused by pests to the local shrimp-breeding industry have been reduced greatly, according to figures released at a conference held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Can Tho earlier this month.
The areas under shrimp breeding affected by pests in the first 10 months of the year fell by half compared with the same period last year.
This year Ca Mau Province, the largest shrimp breeding locality in Viet Nam, has 296,000ha under shrimp breeding, including 5,400 ha under intensive culture.
As of early October, the province attained total production of 242,700 tonnes of shrimp, accounting for 85.2 per cent of the year's target.
The delegate from the Mekong province of Ben Tre said the transfer of areas under coconut cultivation into shrimp-breeding ponds, insufficient investment in breeding facilities, and the poor quality of breeding shrimp were among the main cases that made the breeding industry less productive.
Pham Khanh Ly, deputy chief of the aquaculture division under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the shrimp breeding sector had improved from two years ago when many shrimp breeding areas across the country were hit by pests, causing big losses to farmers.
This year, owners of many shrimp breeding ponds have earned high profits as the demand for Vietnamese shrimp from big markets such as the US, Japan and South Korea has been on the rise, said Ly.
Shrimp exports significantly contributed to the export turnover of US$5.5 billion attained by the local seafood sector in the first 10 months of 2013, an increase of 7.3 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Shrimp exports are expected to reach $2.8 billion for 2013, up by 27 per cent over 2012, and an increase of $300 million to $400 million compared with targets set earlier this year.
VASEP said they were "significant figures" as the country saw slumps in exports of a number of other seafood products over the same period, including a decrease of 2 per cent scored by tra fish, a 4.5 per cent decrease by tuna, and a 12.3 per cent decrease in crab exports.
vietnamnews
