Vietnam shrimp exports unlikely to make a breakthrough at year-end

According to a representative of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in the first 11 months of 2012, Vietnam's shrimp exports were estimated to reach more than 1.95 billion USD, down 4.8% compared to the same period last year.

Among the 10 main import markets of Vietnamese shrimp, the US market decreased by 16.1%, the EU decreased by 25.2%, Canada decreased by 13.8%, Switzerland decreased by 13.8% and ASEAN decreased by 21.5%.

According to many experts, Vietnam's shrimp exports are unlikely to make a breakthrough by the end of this year due to many difficulties domestically as well as low consumption demand in many markets around the world, especially in major import markets.

Processing shrimp for export in Hau Giang. (Photo: Huy Hung/VNA)

In the US market, statistics from the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NKFS) show that shrimp imports of all kinds into the US in the first 9 months of 2012 only reached 381,425 tons, down 5.7% compared to 404,294 tons in the same period last year. Of which, imports from Thailand, Vietnam and China decreased by 32.1%, 34.5% and 35.2% respectively; at the same time, in the coming time, shrimp consumption demand in this market will remain low because the country still has a large shrimp reserve.

In the Japanese market, due to Ethoxyquin residue, although Vietnamese shrimp exports to Japan increased by 6.3% until November 2012, a significant decrease compared to the average increase of over 20% per month in the first months of this year.

Currently, the Ethoxyquin issue has caused many Vietnamese shrimp exporting enterprises to be hesitant when exporting to this market. In addition, the Ethoxyquin inspection regulation has not only caused Vietnamese shrimp to fall into a situation of being forced to lower prices in the Japanese market, but also in many other markets.

According to seafood industry experts, the biggest challenge facing the Vietnamese shrimp industry today is the issue of Ethoxyquin, which has not yet been resolved in the Japanese market.

To overcome the above problem, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is actively negotiating with Japan to request this market to reconsider the issue of warning about Ethoxyquin.

Faced with this situation, Deputy Director General of the Directorate of Fisheries Nguyen Huy Dien also recommended that domestic enterprises and production households need to apply many technical measures to minimize Ethoxyquin residues in raw shrimp.

It is forecasted that in 2013, the Vietnamese shrimp industry will face many difficulties and challenges such as diseases, breeds, environment and loans for production./.

According to Kinhtenongthon – HV