Shrimp sector targets US$4.2 billion in export revenues

In order to concretize the solution for the shrimp export market in reaching the target of $US 4.2 billion in 2019, the target of export turnover for each specific market has been set. Taking advantage of FTAs, the shrimp industry will focus on making the EU the main import market for Vietnamese shrimp, aiming  for a turnover of $US 1 billion. 

The remaining 4 markets including: the U.S., Japan, China and South Korea are to also be boosted growth with a cumulative turnover of US$ 3 billion.

In addition, the industry was expected to achieve a total shrimp output of 780,000 tons this year, including 300,000 tons of tiger shrimp and 480,000 tons of white-leg shrimp.

In 2019, the local shrimp industry would have many opportunities but also face great challenges in export.

To achieve the goal, General Secretary of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP)Truong Dinh Hoe said enterprises should focus on improving the competitiveness of Viet Nam’s shrimp industry.

However, Vietnamese shrimp products still faced various kinds of barriers such as anti-dumping tax and low price of shrimp imported from India. Meanwhile, key markets have strengthened quality control and food safety, including the U.S., the EU and the Republic of Korea markets.

Each year, Viet Nam still imports 200,000-250,000 units of white-leg shrimp parents, satisfying 90% of the domestic demand.

Meanwhile, the price of Vietnamese shrimp is still higher than other countries because the industry has to depend on imports of food and medicine for shrimp production.

Many farms have not received investment for infrastructure and technology, especially in extensive farming areas. There are still many small-scale farms lacking capital and investment opportunities.

Along with that, enterprises should focus on improving the competitive power of Vietnamese shrimp. Besides the great pressures from the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) and strong competition with the price of shrimp imported from India, anti-dumping tax is the biggest pressure for export enterprises to the US market and reduces the competitiveness of Vietnamese shrimp.

With the U.S. market, enterprises need to invest in increasing the export of value-added products without being subjected to anti-dumping tax, and meet the requirement of the SIMP program to make a difference from other export countries like India.

By Vien Nhu