According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Export and Processing (VASEP) the total revenue shrimp export in the first five months was just US$441 million, out of a total of $1.4 billion in aquatic produce exports, a decrease of 7.3 percent of export value and 1.9 percent in volume.
VASEP told that the main aquatic exports are tra and basa fish, $477 million, which have overtaken shrimp for the first time. There was not enough sugpo prawn for the market. Chairman of the Shrimp Committee under VASEP, Le Van Quang opined that at present most processing businesses lack shrimp due to world shrimp market demand fluctuations, diseases and complicated weather changes.
Quang noted that main reason for lack of shrimp was due the farmers experiencing revenue loss from raising shrimp for export last year. In that sense many farmers to not bother breeding shrimp this year. He added that it is not easy to find shrimp in the traditional Soc Trang and Bac Lieu shrimp growing areas. He told that shrimp breeding areas in Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Soc Trang are decreasing and supgo prawn production in Mekong Delta this year is forecast to drop by 30-40 percent compared with 2007.
Quang also explained that though the shrimp prices have been increasing a little, it has not been enough to encourage farmers to resume farming. Many shrimp processors have been running at just 30 percent capacity. The general director of Thuan Phuoc Commercial and Seafood, Da Nang Tran Van Linh, last year a large number of prawns and white-legged shrimp were infected with disease in the Central region, so farmers need to reduce the effects on the environment and choose good shrimp seed.
