Upwards of $3.5 billion worth of farmed shrimp, primarily in frozen form, was exported by producers in Vietnam from January to November of 2017 – up by almost 22% over 2016. Total receipts were expected to top $3.8 billion by the end of the year.
Shipments to the European Union (EU) advanced by almost 22% through November, as Vietnamese packers took advantage of a fall in demand for Indian product caused by adverse publicity over reports of antibiotics in shrimp sourced from the subcontinent, said to Tran Van Linh, chairman of Da Nang City-based Thuan Phouc Seafoods and Trading JSC.
According to VietnamNet Bridge, prices in Ca Mau Province, the nation’s largest shrimp production region, prices have risen for both black tiger and white shrimp. It reported that Ngo Thanh Linh, general secretary of the Ca Mau Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, said most shrimp processing plants in the province are in need of raw material due to short supplies from local farmers.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), having recently analyzed customs data covering the first eight months of 2017, ranked the European Union as the No. 1 buyer of shrimp from Vietnam during that period. It imported US $483.6 million worth of product, up 30% year on year.
The USA ranked as Vietnam’s fourth largest market for shrimp, behind Japan and China. It imported about US $416 million worth, approximately 4.4% less than that which was purchased during the same period in 2016. Reasons for the downturn, according to VASEP, included the imposition of anti-dumping duties by the Department of Commerce, the dollar’s depreciation in value, and competition from India.
