AsemconnectVietnam - Production costs, diseases, and environmental issues,... have pushed Vietnam's raw shrimp prices higher than other countries.

Shrimp production costs are still high
Vietnam's annual shrimp export turnover reaches about 4.3 billion USD. Vietnam aims to increase shrimp export turnover three times by 2023, reaching 12 billion USD. Vietnam needs to move towards climate-smart agriculture (CSA) to achieve this goal.
Vietnam has become one of the leading shrimp exporters in the world. In 2022, Vietnam's shrimp export turnover will reach 4.3 billion USD, accounting for 15% of the global shrimp export market share. However, Vietnamese shrimp prices are still higher than in other countries, especially India and Ecuador.
There are several reasons why Vietnamese shrimp prices are still higher than other countries, including:
Shrimp production costs in Vietnam are higher: According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, shrimp production costs in Vietnam range from 3.5 - 4.2 USD/kg, while the cost of shrimp production in India and Ecuador is only about 2.7-3 USD/kg and 2.2 - 2.4 USD/kg. The reason why shrimp production costs in Vietnam are higher is due to factors such as High animal feed prices, increased labor costs, farm investment costs, and complex equipment,...
High demand for shrimp imports from Vietnam: In 2023, demand for shrimp imports from major markets such as the US, China, EU,... increases sharply. This has caused Vietnamese shrimp prices to increase higher than other countries.
Higher quality of Vietnamese shrimp: Vietnamese shrimp is highly appreciated for its quality, especially for freshness and flavor, contributing to the increase in Vietnamese shrimp prices.
The big challenge is facing
Vietnam's shrimp industry is facing many challenges, of which the two biggest challenges are disease and the environment.
Common shrimp diseases in Vietnam can cause heavy damage to the shrimp industry, reducing productivity and product value, including white spot disease, white feces disease, yellow head disease, black spot disease, etc. These diseases can spread quickly, causing mass deaths of shrimp in ponds.
The cause of the disease can be due to the invasion of viruses from many different sources, such as from breeds, food, water, etc. Inappropriate environmental conditions, such as temperature, salinity, and pH,... create favorable conditions for developing dangerous pathogens.
In addition, unsafe farming techniques, such as using too high a stocking density, not cleaning ponds regularly,... lead to a higher risk of infected shrimp than usual.
In addition, intensive shrimp farming in Vietnam has caused many environmental problems, such as water pollution, land degradation, etc., all originating from the process of using food, drugs, chemicals, etc. Discharging wastewater from ponds into the environment, and using land inefficiently,... directly affects human health and the natural environment.
Value chain formed to improve shrimp’s competitiveness
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.
Bac Lieu develops shrimp value chain with hi-tech farming models
Bac Lieu has set developing hi-tech shrimp farming models as a primary direction to make the Mekong Delta province the "national shrimp industry hub" and develop the "Bac Lieu clean shrimp" brand.ac Lieu has built five high-tech shrimp farming areas with an area of 3,900 ha. The areas apply super-intensive, intensive, and semi-intensive farming models, with water-saving farming technology and biosafety farming methods.Besides, it has paid attention to monitoring aquatic diseases and building disease-free areas and facilities for brackish water shrimp. Since 2017, the province has implemented a scheme for monitoring disease safety for export.In 2023, twenty breed production facilities and seven shrimp farming facilities registered to build disease-free facilities.
T.Huong
Source: Vitic