The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) forecasts shrimp export revenues of 3.8 billion USD this year as compared to 3 billion USD in 2013.

As of October, shrimp exports were worth 3.25 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 42.3 percent.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2014 will be a big year for Vietnam's shrimp farming industry. Already 569,000 tonnes of shrimp have been harvested, and output for the full year is expected to shoot up by 20.4 percent to 660,000 tonnes.

Speaking at a conference on shrimp farming in the Mekong province of Ben Tre on November 4, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam said despite the threat posed by diseases and the rising cost of animal feed and shrimp fry (for breeding), local farmers, with their great efforts, have managed a bumper shrimp harvest this year.

There were 676,000 hectares of shrimp-breeding ponds, an increase of 46.4 percent from the same period last year and 33.3 percent higher than targeted.

The southern region, which accounts for 93 percent of this, accounts for 84.4 percent of Vietnam's shrimp production.

The US has been the biggest buyer of Vietnamese shrimp followed by Japan.

Exports to the European Union rose sharply in the period, making it one of the biggest buyers. Exports to Germany were up 63.8 percent and to the Netherlands, 255.9 percent.

Other big growth markets were the Republic of Korea (84.4 percent) and Australia (32.7 percent).

To sustain the outstanding performance of the shrimp industry, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat has instructed the Aquaculture General Department to complete the master plan for restructuring the shrimp farming industry.

In the last two months of the year and in 2015 the ministry will co-operate with provinces to intensify the fight against shrimp diseases.-VNA