Shrimp exports predicted to sustain growth in April

HCM City (VNA) – Shrimp exports are projected to increase by 20 percent on-year in April, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has said.

The prediction is based on strong growth recorded in March which brought the total export value of the product in the first quarter to more than 900 million USD, a yearly rise of 37 percent.

Also, the current period is the time for European and US markets to prepare food supply for consumers during the summer holiday as well as stockpiles for the fall.

Hoang Van Duy from the Mekong Seafood Connection limited company said the demand for shrimps will get higher in Europe, the US, and markets needing food supply for summer.

Vietnamese farmers will continue to benefit from the market recovery and the world’s demand, he added.

Tran Van Linh, chairman of the board of directors at the Thuan Phuoc Seafoods & Trading Corp., said to serve orders from clients in the US, the EU, Japan, and the Republic of Korea in the time to come, his company is getting its resources ready to expand investment and develop a 200-ha shrimp farming area in Ben Tre province's Ba Tri district and in the northern area of the Hau river.

Also in response to the increasing market demand, many farmers in the Mekong Delta have increased their investment in farming techniques and technology serving export.

Statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show Vietnam’s shrimp farming area is currently over 740,000 hectares, with output topping 900,000 tonnes per year. Although the area only increased by about 1.5 percent annually, the yield grew sharply by 10 percent a year./.