Vietnam poised to become major global shrimp producer
- Shrimp exports may exceed 4 billion USD this year
- Shrimp exporters eye over US$4 billion in export in 2021
- Vietnam’s shrimp exports forecast to reach 3.8 billion USD in 2020
High-tech shrimp farming facility in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province (Photo: VNA)
Robins McInstosh, senior vice president of Charoen Pokphand Foods under Thailand’s CP Group, said shrimp production tends to increase by between 6% and 7% annually, despite the global food service sector facing disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In terms of the Vietnamese shrimp industry, McInstosh points out that local shrimp production has steadily increased by between 5% and 10% over recent years, with some years even seeing jumps to 12%.
He also emphasised that this stable growth can largely be attributed to technological changes taking place in local shrimp farming with high-tech shrimp farming being widely applied by farmers nationwide in recent years, especially in provinces in the southeast of the country and around the Mekong River Delta.
Furthermore, the domestic shrimp sector has continuously exerted great efforts as a means of coping with the COVID-19 epidemic whilst striving to respond to drought and saltwater intrusion.
According to figures compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the nation is now home to over 200,000 hectares of high-tech shrimp farming, with Bac Lieu and Soc Trang provinces making up a total area of approximately 186,000 hectares. Indeed, these two localities are also receiving investment from foreign firms who are keen to boost processing and export activities.
With the Vietnamese shrimp industry recording various achievements, neighbouring shrimp producers have united with the country in order to produce shrimp for the global market.
Most notably, early February saw the Indonesian Government co-operate with the nation to develop aquaculture, with specific efforts made to improve lobster farming technology.
Indonesian Minister of Marine and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said Indonesia plans to invite its Vietnamese partners to co-operate in promoting development in the field of aquaculture, especially in attempting to produce key aquatic products with the aim of turning Vietnam into one of the leading ASEAN member states to contribute to the world’s food supply sources.
