Shrimp exports face many difficulties in 2023

Despite such positive results, according to many experts, Vietnam's shrimp industry will face many difficulties in 2023.

At the 2023 Shrimp Industry Development Conference on March 3, Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), estimated that shrimp exports in 2022 reached a record level thanks to orders from 2021 due to the suspension of Covid-19, shrimp prices bargain and great efforts of enterprises in the context of many difficulties.

Vietnam's shrimp was exported to 108 markets, instead of 103 markets as in 2021, of which exports to nine main markets account for more than 97% of the total value.

Shrimp exports in 2023 will have to compete more strongly with shrimp from Ecuador and India. Besides, the price of imported shrimp in the world market has gradually decreased since the second half of 2022 and is expected to keep falling down while the global supply increases to about 6 million tons. Meanwhile, the domestic price of raw shrimp tends to increase, making it difficult to mobilize raw materials for export processing.

At the same time, with a large inventory, US shrimp imports cannot recover in the first half of 2023. Demand will still focus more on small-size shrimp which is in favor of Ecuador because of the abundant supply of shrimp and its geographical location.

"In addition, shrimp exports in 2023 will be very difficult due to the abundant supply variety but price escalation. From that, it is forecast that market demand will recover from the second quarter of 2023 with a lower price trend than 2022," said Mr. Hoe.

Export turnover in 2022 was 4.3 billion USD, the highest level ever. Photo: N.Thanh

Many experts also said that shrimp production costs are still higher than in other countries in the region, which mainly results from the considerable proportion of shrimp feed of the total production cost (about 65% of the cost of industrial shrimp farming).

In addition, the cost of seed is high due to the high import cost of broodstock, unqualified infrastructure in the farming areas and polluted water sources due to production and living processes, and the overuse of pesticides from agricultural production. The production and sale of floating, unquarantined shrimp seed is quite common in some localities, affecting the quality of shrimp farming, etc. are also the reasons why Vietnam's shrimp industry will face many difficulties this year.

In order to achieve the set plan, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien, businesses need to diversify processed products, especially deep processing, processing value-added products in line with consumer demand in the new situation.

Besides, they should proactively develop plans and prepare essential conditions for production in unpredicted conditions such as drought, salinity intrusion, environmental fluctuations that lead to disease outbreaks, and rising input prices.

Moreover, it is necessary to improve product quality; cooperate and link production in chains to reduce intermediaries, reduce production costs; apply farming methods certified by VietGAP, GlobalGAP, ASC.

Localities participating in the shrimp chain must be tightened to ensure the continuous operation of the shrimp production chain and prevent products such as seeds, aqua feeds, and products for treating the aquaculture environment that does not meet quality standards for consumers.