Ben Tre’s shrimp sector targets production value of 1 billion USD by 2025

Ben Tre (VNA) - The production value of the shrimp industry in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre is to surge by an average of 41.1 percent each year to 2025 and reach 1 billion USD.

According to a plan to develop the sector, issued recently by the provincial People’s Committee, the locality will develop 4,000 ha of brackish water shrimp aquaculture area applying high technology by 2025, to promote the sustainable development of the fisheries economy in particular and the coastal province’s socio-economic development in general.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Ngoc Tam said Ben Tre aims to modernise its industrialisation-oriented marine shrimp farming sector and turn it into a large commodity production sector with high levels of competitiveness, productivity, and quality, thus creating breakthroughs in the stable and sustainable development of the fisheries economy and, most importantly, contributing to the province’s GDP growth.

To that end, local authorities have implemented solutions such as re-organising production, improving the quality of young marine shrimp, prompting the research and application of science and technology in production, developing infrastructure, managing the environment, and developing shrimp processing activities.

Attention will be paid to developing concentrated and large raw material production areas and expanding effective aquaculture models to help local farmers improve their earnings.

According to the Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Van Buoi, Ben Tre currently has nearly 1,700 ha of brackish water aquaculture areas applying high technology, with an annual average yield of 36 tonnes per ha and profit of 2.1-2.4 billion VND (91,400-104,560 USD) per ha per year.

Brackish water shrimp farming has been developing strongly in Ben Tre, especially intensive and semi-intensive shrimp cultivation.

According to the department, as of 2020, the locality had exploited 45,747 ha of aquaculture area out of 50,000 ha of potential aquaculture area, including 36,000 ha of intensive and semi-intensive marine shrimp farming areas, with total production reaching some 70,000 tonnes.

Infrastructure in the province’s aquaculture areas has been gradually improved, especially road and irrigation networks, basically meeting current demand./.