Shrimp farmers are in a bind.

The administrative review was launched by the US Department of Commerce (DOC) from February 1, 2012 to January 31, 2013 (POR8). Of which, Minh Phu Seafood Corporation (Ca Mau) was subject to a tax rate of 4.98%, Soc Trang Seafood Joint Stock Company (Stapimex) 9.75% and 30 other defendant companies 6.37%. The general tax rate for the whole country is 25.76%. Before this information, the price of black tiger shrimp and white-leg shrimp in the Mekong Delta fell sharply.

Shrimp prices plummet

In Tra Vinh province, over the past week, the price of white-leg shrimp has decreased by about 20,000 VND/kg. Mr. Nguyen Van Mai - residing in Cau Ngang district, owning more than 2 hectares of shrimp farming water surface - said: "In mid-September, the price of white-leg shrimp increased by 2,000 VND/kg (60 shrimp/kg) to 140,000 VND/kg. Now traders are asking for only 120,000 VND/kg, and the price of 100 shrimp/kg has also decreased from 120,000 VND/kg to 100,000 VND/kg".

According to Mr. Mai’s calculations, with the current price drop, he can still make a small profit by selling shrimp, enough to invest in the next crop. However, he and many other shrimp farmers in the area are sitting on hot coals because they fear that prices will continue to slide due to the US anti-dumping tax.

Shrimp farmers are victims of trade disputes. Photo: DUY NHAN

According to farmer Le Van Sang, living in Cau Ngang district, the price of tiger prawns in mid-September was about 250,000 VND/kg for 20 prawns/kg. Currently, this type is only priced at 220,000-240,000 VND/kg. The price of 40 prawns/kg has dropped from 200,000 VND/kg to about 180,000-185,000 VND/kg. "Calculating, with 1 ton of tiger prawns ready to harvest, my family suddenly lost about 20 million VND. There is still a little profit, but it is a pity!" - Mr. Sang sadly said.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tra Vinh province, by mid-September, the whole province harvested nearly 11,000 tons of black tiger shrimp and 23,000 tons of white-leg shrimp. With the selling price at that time, farmers made a lot of profit. But with the current situation, many households that have finished harvesting shrimp are hesitant and do not dare to release new shrimp to raise.

Unreasonable tax rates

Many seafood export enterprises believe that the DOC's imposition of anti-dumping tax on shrimp products imported into the US has caused raw shrimp prices to drop, making shrimp farmers the main victims of the trade dispute.

Mr. Tran Van Pham, General Director of Stapimex - the enterprise subject to the highest anti-dumping tax (9.75%) - said that the DOC's tax imposition is unfair and unreasonable.

“The calculation based on the third country, Bangladesh, is clearly inappropriate because the input price of farmed shrimp in this country has always been higher than in Vietnam, and their shrimp farming techniques are also more limited than ours, pushing up production costs. Meanwhile, in our country, farming techniques, breeds, and disease control are better, so production costs are lower. Therefore, the price of Vietnamese shrimp exported to the US market will be lower,” Mr. Pham analyzed.

According to Mr. Vo Hong Ngoan, the most successful shrimp farmer in Bac Lieu province, behind the unfair decision of DOC, the people who suffered the most damage are the farmers.

“It is not clear how the DOC’s decision will affect the country’s shrimp export industry, but the immediate damage to farmers is clear. Because when shrimp are taxed at a high level, businesses are afraid of losses, so they will immediately force farmers to lower their purchase prices. Shrimp prices in the province have dropped by 15,000-20,000 VND/kg in recent days.

We just hope that the government, associations and businesses have a reasonable way to fight against DOC's decisions to maintain stability for the shrimp export industry, thereby also minimizing damage to shrimp farmers" - Mr. Ngoan suggested.

Mr. Tran Thien Hai, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said that the method of calculating prices applied by the DOC this time is unscientific in both statistics and practice. “This is reflected in the results announced by the DOC when the anti-dumping tax rate this period increased dramatically while the previous review period (POR7) was 0% for all enterprises. Obviously, this is an unreasonable imposition. This imposition will cause the price of Vietnamese shrimp sold to the US market to be lowered, greatly affecting the profits of all domestic shrimp exporting enterprises, even suffering heavy losses,” Mr. Hai said.

According to rural economy