Processors now face shortage of shrimps

Seafood processors are facing a shrimp shortage at present, leading to an increase in input costs and a reduction of production capacity at seafood processing factories in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Producers and Exporters (VASEP).

The prices have increased 10-20 per cent for large shrimp and 5-10 per cent for small- shrimp compared to last month.

The prices have increased 10-20 per cent for large shrimp and 5-10 per cent for small- shrimp compared to last month.

Nguyen Ngoc Tai, deputy director of Kim Anh Ltd Company based in southern Soc Trang Province, said his company currently can only purchase 10 tonnes of shrimp a day, substantially lower than a volume of 50 tonnes a day one month ago. The prices have increased 10-20 per cent for large shrimp and 5-10 per cent for small- shrimp compared to last month, he said. Many enterprises in the Mekong Delta have admitted that they will have to buy shrimp at inflated prices, but the real problem is a lack of output by shrimp farmers.

Soc Trang Province lost its shrimp crop in 2008, leading to a lack of material for processing at factories in the province. It had a total output pf 55,000 tonnes of shrimp this year, 10,000 tonnes lower than the average output of previous years. This year’s output has left six of the province’s nine factories running at less than full capacity.

Nguyen Van Khoi, deputy director of Soc Trang Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said the total shrimp output in the Mekong Delta provinces this year declined by 30 per cent on previous years so many enterprises have visited Soc Trang to purchase stocks, leading to raw material shortages for factories in the province as well

Pham Anh Dao, head of the Phu Cuong Processing, Import and Export Ltd Company’s business division, said her company was continuously short of shrimp and the company’s factory was operating at 50 per cent of its capacity, which sometimes dropped to 10-20 per cent in a few particularly bad months.

At present, the lack of shrimp has pushed prices up 10-15 per cent compared with the same period of last year, according to seafood experts. The price increased by VND10,000-20,000 per kilo to VND150,000 per 20-kilo and VND110,000-120,000 per 30-kilo and VND90,000 per 40-kilo.

Dao said by the end of this year and the early of next year, the lack of shrimp would be even more serious because many farmers did not have any capital to continue developing shrimp farming, nor would they have been able to meet increased market demand. Instead shrimp processors may be forced into importing shrimp from other countries, including India and Indonesia.

Seafood experts have suggested that urgent attention should be given to a rapid increase in shrimp farming to deal with the shortage.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Tags: Vietnam business news, Vietnam shrimps export