According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), by the end of October 2021, the turnover shrimp export reached $3.2 billion, up 2.6% over the same period last year. Specifically, the US market accounted for 24% of turnover with nearly 1.7 billion USD, up 25%; EU accounted for 12% with 864 million USD, up 7%; South Korea accounted for 9% with US$643 million, a slight increase of 2%. Meanwhile, exports to Japan reached 1.08 billion USD, down 7%; China 872 million USD, down 24%...
 
When the supply chain is smooth 
 

In October 2021 alone, seafood exports to the US recovered the most, increasing by 31% compared to October 2020, followed by South Korea by 20%, Canada by 17%, the EU by 9%... However, exports to China continued to fall deeply by 43%.

The price of raw shrimp has increased again. Farmers are less worried

According to many experts and businesses, thanks to the southern provinces and cities to adapt to the Covid-19 epidemic in the new situation, the supply chain is connected smoothly, so Vietnam's shrimp exports gradually recovered from October 2021.

In addition, the fourth quarter is the time when the import demand of European countries, the US ... is always high to meet consumption at the end of the year. Besides, the shrimp industry is also supported by the increasing market price of shrimp. Raw material shrimp prices in most major producing countries such as India and Indonesia tend to increase due to shortages.

The increase in the price of raw material shrimp along with the gradual recovery of exports has opened up a bright future for the shrimp industry in the last months of the year. This is also the motivation for shrimp farmers and seafood exporters to overcome the most difficult period of the shrimp industry ever due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic.

"In the past few months, seafood enterprises have faced a lot of pressures because of the lack of labor resources due to the Covid-19 outbreak, sometimes having to stop production. Up to now, we have solved the problem of vaccines for workers. , along with the price increase of shrimp again, market demand increases at the end of the year, which is a good opportunity for the company to seize, speed up, and restore production" - Ms. Ho Thi Kieng, Director of Thien Phu Seafood Processing Import - Export Co., Ltd. (Gia Rai town, Bac Lieu province), expected.

According to Mr. Ngo Thanh Toan, Director of Anh Tuan Production and Trading Company Limited (Can Tho City), shrimp prices are quite good because traveling is more convenient than before. "At this time, raw material shrimp is also running out because of the recent epidemic, many farmers do not stock. Our company has just released a new crop, near the Lunar New Year, there will be raw material shrimp for sale," he said.

Shrimp farmers are optimistic 

The price of raw material shrimp in the Mekong Delta is recovering and increasing gradually in the past few weeks, which has partly relieved the risk pressure on farming households. Currently, the purchase price at farms for white-leg shrimp of 100 pcs/kg is 90,000 VND, 40-60 pcs/kg is from 120,000-140,000 VND, 30 pcs/kg is 160,000 VND, 25 pcs/kg is 180,000 VND, 20 pcs/kg is 240,000 VND. Black tiger shrimp 20 pcs/kg is bought by traders for about 250,000 VND, 30 pcs/kg is from 180,000-190,000 VND. With such purchase prices, shrimp farmers are still profitable even though the prices of feed and aquatic drugs are still high.

Currently, the Covid-19 situation is still complicated in the localities with the largest shrimp production and export in the country such as Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh... However, the price of raw material shrimp has increased gradually. At the end of the year, it dispels worries for farmers.

Mr. Ngo Minh Nguyen - in Vinh My A commune, Hoa Binh district, Bac Lieu province - said that he had just harvested nearly 1 ton of white-leg shrimp of one shrimp pond with the size of 30 pcs/kg, selling for 160,000 VND/kg, making a profit of nearly 70 million VND. "Last month, because I was worried that the Covid-19 epidemic would affect the price of shrimp at the end of the year, I planned to harvest all 4 shrimp ponds early. If I sell at that time, I can only recover capital but not make a profit. But when the price of shrimp comes, showed signs of increasing again, I only harvested one pond. The remaining 3 ponds, shrimp are also of the same size, I wait until the size is larger and the price inched up to harvest to get more profit" - he calculated.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Bac Lieu province, usually in the last months of the year, the prices of raw material shrimp are higher than other months of the year. Therefore, at this time, shrimp farmers all have high expectations for the year-end farming crop.

VASEP believes that demand from shrimp import markets is still high. The production and processing of seafood is on the rebound and is expected to grow again in the next 2 months when the vaccination rate in the provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta increases rapidly, limiting the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Source: Labourer newspaper, SEABINA GROUP's translation