The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep) has estimated this year’s shrimp export revenue would total some US$3.2 billion this year, well below the US$3.9 billion recorded last year.
Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of Vasep, told the Daily that local shrimp exporters have coped with more challenges since last year, and that shrimp export turnover could drop by a hefty US$700 million this year.
Nguyen Van Kich, general director of Cafatex Company in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang, shared Hoe’s view, saying shrimp exports would go down remarkably this year.
He said it is difficult to say exactly how much export revenue would decline but forecast that the fall would be somewhere between US$700 million and US$1 billion.
Vasep attributed lower export prices of shrimp to the export plunge this year, saying that prices have dipped in line with a pickup in competition with rivals like India, Thailand and Ecuador.
According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam obtained shrimp exports of US$1.2 billion in the first half of this year, down 29% year-on-year. White-leg shrimp shipments accounted for US$741 million of the total, and tiger shrimp the remainder.
Given the current situation, local exporters will find it hard to obtain shrimp exports of US$2.7 billion until December to make this year’s revenue equal to that of 2014.
Shrinking outbound sales of shrimp could send the country’s seafood export turnover down sharply as shrimp makes up around half of all seafood exports.
Tough shrimp exports have impacted prices of unprocessed shrimp in the country.
At present, tiger prawn in the Mekong Delta is sold at VND190,000-260,000 a kilo, the same as in the previous week, while prices of white-leg shrimp stand at VND85,000-95,000 a kilo, down by around VND1,000-2,000 against a week earlier.