The brackish water shrimp crop in 2019 is considered to be the most volatile, making forecasts of businesses on production and markets facing many difficulties. However, above all else, the whole country's shrimp industry in general and Soc Trang in particular have reached the finish line in time and all are making efforts for the new shrimp crop with higher expectations.
Even in the pond improvement period, many forecasts showed that the shrimp crop in 2019 will be a good season when the weather and environmental factors are quite favorable. And the fact has proved that the forecasts above are completely correct when most of the shrimp farming areas in the Mekong River Delta (Mekong Delta) have hit seasons. In Soc Trang, according to a report from the Provincial Fisheries Department, shrimp production this year reached over 150,000 tons, although the farming area is only about 57,000 ha. Some provinces with large shrimp farming areas in the Mekong Delta such as Bac Lieu, Kien Giang, Ca Mau ... all recorded an increase in shrimp production compared to 2018. Assessment of the farming situation, Mr. Tran Cong Khoi - Deputy The director of the Aquaculture Department said: “This year's shrimp production would actually increase very high if shrimp prices in the first months of the year don't drop low and EHP disease does not appear near the end of the main crop. However, this year's shrimp crop is still considered a success with an estimated production of about 860,000 - 870,000 tons ”.
Not only has the output increased, but the quality of farmed shrimp has also been significantly improved, as commented by Mr. Ha Huu Tri - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Soc Trang Seafood Joint Stock Company (Stapimex): “This year, the situation of shrimp farming It is quite convenient and the quality of farmed shrimp is also better, so almost no shrimp exporting enterprises have been returned as in previous years. This together with the lack of supply in the world has made shrimp prices rise again, especially since September, in which, shrimp from 40 / kg to large has the strongest price increase, because is consumed well in the markets ”.
However, the joy of shrimp farmers and exporters was not complete because the world and domestic shrimp prices kept falling sharply in the first 7 months of the year and epidemics appeared, making the stocking somewhat slow. and caused a shortage of raw materials at the end of the crop, so although shrimp production still increased, the export value of shrimp nationwide was estimated at only 3.6 billion USD, or about 600 million USD lower than planned. Although they did not meet the export plan, in general, the operations of the businesses were relatively stable and profitable; Farmers are not too precarious as in previous years.
According to the assessment, the current shrimp farming force is also quite professional, it is shown by the fact that they only stock when the farming conditions and the market are favorable, because the cycle of shrimp farming is quite short. Only they lack capital and lack of mutual link, even with businesses, so the efficiency and sustainability are not high. Therefore, how to promote quality in shrimp export, reorganize production of farms and cooperatives in order to have conditions to invest in improving facilities, applying science and technology, helping to reduce risk, improve biosafety and success rate.
According to businesses, the annual demand for the world shrimp market increases less than 5%, so on that basis, the target for seafood export in 2020 is still 10 billion USD, of which shrimp is about 4 - 4 , $ 2 billion was also an attempt. According to Mr. Ho Quoc Luc - Chairman of Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company, Vietnam's shrimp businesses are currently in the top of the world, so if our shrimp is good, the consumption problem is not too big. , the room for growth is entirely feasible to the extent possible. In addition, shrimp consumption in 2020 is also likely to increase thanks to 2 major international sporting events: the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and the final round of the European National Football Championship ( UEFA Euro 2020).
Commenting on the shrimp export market in 2020, businesses are inclined to more favorable factors. The first advantage mentioned by businesses is that the anti-dumping tax rate in the US market has reached 0%. Second, the EVFTA Agreement, which is likely to take effect from June 2020, will help increase shrimp exports to the European market thanks to the advantage of tax rates. Thirdly, the Chinese market currently has 75-80% of the seafood products we have exported through official channel, which is an important factor for the recovery and growth of shrimp exports to this market in the coming time. Regarding whether there will be internal competition in the European market when EVFTA comes into effect, Mr. Luc said: “Competition is inherently the nature of the marketplace in which businesses are always both internal and external competition from shrimp powers. Therefore, in order to have good competitiveness, enterprises must have a methodical business strategy, taking sustainable development as the top target; At the same time, attaching importance to the selection of clean, traceable material shrimp and focusing on branding ... ”.
(According to Soc Trang newspaper)
