Brackish water shrimp aquaculture has seen a record growth in 2014, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat at a conference on November 4.

This year, the country has an estimated 685,000ha of brackish water shrimp farms which produce a total output of 660,000 tonnes, up 4.4 percent in terms of area and 20.4 percent in production.

In the first nine months, the export of shrimp earned the country 2.93 billion USD, a 17.2 percent rise compared to the same period last year.

At the same time, the industry is facing a number of problems including unstable market prices and seasonal diseases.

Minister Phat urged relevant agencies to timely equip farmers with updated market information and expand certified shrimp cultivation models while actively implementing disease prevention programmes. He also noted that there is a need to continue expanding the market, especially in the US and Japan.

In 2015, the industry aims to expand the farming area to 700,000 ha for an output of 700,000 tonnes, year-on-year increases of 2.2 and 6.6 percent, respectively.-VNA