Processors face seafood shortage

Seafood processors in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces have been facing a shortage of raw materials ever since shrimp and tra catfish farming areas shrank dramatically last year.

Ly Van Thuan, general secretary of the Ca Mau Province Seafood Exporters and Processors Association, said most of the 31 shrimp processors in Ca Mau now operate at just 40 per cent capacity.

The shortage of shrimp meant Ca Mau, the country’s top exporter of the crustacean, was unable to achieve its export target last year.

In Bac Lieu Province, the area under shrimp farming fell by almost a third last year, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

It warned the shortage would persist through the first quarter.

Tra processors in the delta, the country’s largest catfish production area, have also been facing a shortage of raw materials since many farmers stopped breeding the catfish last year after suffering losses in 2008. In the first half of last year the area of tra farms shrank by 30 per cent.

Most processors are running at 50 per cent of capacity.

Thuan said many shrimp farmers too suffered severe losses in 2008, leading to a decline in farming area last year.

“Seafood processors know about the situation but cannot do much since they have not established their own breeding areas”, he said.

To resolve the problem, Tran Thien Hai, chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors, or VASEP, said the provinces should reschedule their farming plans to avoid the constant swing between overabundance and severe shortage of shrimp.

Besides, processors should work in tandem with authorities and shrimp breeders to guarantee the latter’s entire output has an outlet and expand the area on which shrimp is bred on an industrial scale to raise output, he said.

The Government last month approved a plan to develop tra catfish production and consumption in the Delta through 2020.

The plan, which requires an outlay of around VND1.34 trillion (US$74 million), will stipulate that new tra farms should have a minimum area of at least 10 hectares and be located in areas zoned for the purpose.

It also plans to reorganise tra breeding activities, develop improved strains, and improve co-operation among breeders and processors.

VietNamNet/VNS

Tags: Vietnam Seafood, Vietnam seafood exports