Value chain formed to improve shrimp’s competitiveness: Insiders

The shrimp sector should be developed in value chain so as to gain competitive edge amidst prolonged challenges like global economic recession, tensions in the Red Sea, and anti-dumping measures from the US, according to insiders.

Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu Luu Hoang Ly said the locality, the region’s largest shrimp larvae producer, has promoted linkage between farmers, suppliers, and producers to form a value chain that brings high economic efficiency to the local shrimp.

The model has helped reduce production costs while promoting stable, effective, and sustainable sale, he said, adding the province has paid due regard to completing local farming infrastructure, particularly hi-tech shrimp breeding, intensive cultivation, and rice-shrimp rotation areas.

Phung Thi Kim Thu, a shrimp specialist from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, held that the value chain contributes greatly to the sustainable development of the sector.

She also suggested enterprises pay attention to the taste of their new consumers to increase their market share, elaborating China is enhancing the import of fresh lobster, dried, salted and smoked shrimp, and processed products, while the Republic of Korea’s demand for cooked, processed and preserved food is rising.

Local firms have implemented various measures to overcome headwinds and shape up a value chain to ensure orders.

Sao Ta Foods Joint Stock Company said its 203-hectare shrimp farm will be put into operation in July, helping the firm improve its production capacity.

Meanwhile, Minh Phu Seafood Corporation has joined international fairs and exhibitions to get new orders, and worked to improve its shrimp quality and cut production costs by applying bio-farming technology.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that Vietnam shipped nearly 1.56 billion USD worth of shrimp overseas, up 7% year-on-year. Vietnamese shrimp has been sold to 103 countries and territories worldwide, with leading purchasers being China, China’s Hong Kong, the US, and Japan./.

Source: Vietnam Plus