Ca Mau has earned only more than 140 million USD from shrimp exports since the beginning of 2020, down over 18 percent year on year (Photo: VNA) Ca Mau (VNA) – As shrimp exporters and farmers inCa Mau are feeling COVID-19 headwinds, the southernmost province is seekingways to mitigate impact of the pandemic that is ravaging around the world.
Tran Hoang Em, Secretary General of the Ca MauAssociation of Seafood Exporters and Producers (CASEP), said raw black tigershrimp of the type of 20 pieces per kg is currently priced at some 180,000 VND(7.6 USD) per kg, down 100,000 VND compared to prices before the Lunar NewYear.
Meanwhile, the province has gained only morethan 140 million USD from shrimp exports since the year’s beginning, down over18 percent year on year, according to the provincial Department of Industry andTrade.
The drop is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic,which have forced many big partners to postpone orders due to travelrestrictions. For example, shipments to the US have fallen 66.7 percent to some16 million USD, and to China 67.7 percent to over 4.5 million USD.
Besides, overseas trade promotion programmeshave also been suspended, making it hard for exporters to seek new buyers.
Em said Ca Mau supplies around 200,000 tonnes ofraw shrimp for the market each year. Therefore, if processors do not purchasematerials, farmers also don’t know who to sell to.
To have capital for buying and stockpilingmaterials, businesses hope that Government will soon issue a loan packagesupporting those affected by COVID-19, he noted.
The Industry and Trade Department predicted evenmore difficulties in April and the second quarter of 2020, so the outlook forexport is gloomy. The authority recommended firms make use of the Chinese andJapanese markets where demand has begun to recover or maintained, and closelymonitor the situation in other markets so as to take timely measures to boostexport.
The Industry and Trade Department of Ca Mau hascoordinated with other departments and sectors to carry out market forecastingand submit policy proposals related to credit, social insurance, electricityand taxation to the provincial People’s Committee to help businesses purchaseand process materials and keep products in stock to wait for export chances.
Local authorities said the province plans toraise the shrimp output this year by 8 percent from 2019 to about 210,000tonnes, including 200,000 tonnes farmed and the rest harvested at sea.
With those solutions, Ca Mau hopes to minimiselosses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, maintain its markets and help farmersstabilise production activities.
Home to the largest aquaculture area, about300,000ha, in Vietnam, Ca Mau posts annual aquatic export earning of nearly 1.2billion USD on average.
According to the provincial Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development, the local shrimp farming area is stillstable, producing roughly 46,800 tonnes in the first three months. Ca Mau hasalso fished another about 700 tonnes of shrimp so far this year./.
VNA
