Even though shrimp exports recovered constantly in two months, some businesses are concerned about sales of shrimps in the last months of the year while the inflation is escalating and the logistic system has not been recovered.
According to the Vietnam Industry and Trade Information Center (VITIC – under the Ministry of Industry and Trade), Vietnam exported 45 thousand tons of shrimp in September, valued at USD 430 million, up 50% in volume and 51% in value as compared to the same period last year.
Vietnam’s shrimp exports fell sharply in August and September under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. As compared to the statistics of August, shrimp exports in September increased by 11% in volume and 9.1% in value from the same period last year.
Shrimp exports were estimated to reach 354 thousand tons in the first nine months of the year, valued at USD 3.4 billion, up 19.17% in volume and 26.5% in value as compared to the same period last year.
The exporting price of shrimp in September was not different from that of August, around 9.5 USD/kg.
VITIC anticipates that the rising inflation resulted in a skyrocketing competitive price of white leg shrimps and small size and medium size black tiger shrimp.
“Thus, Vietnam’s shrimp exports will have opportunities for a sharp growth in the last months of the year”, anticipated VITIC.
Worry about inflation
Hồ Quốc Lực, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sao Ta Food JSC said that the inflation was rising and the international logistics system has not recovered. These would pose threats to the shrimp sector in the last months of the year.
The fall of euro, pound and yen has made the purchase decline. Even though the dollar is high, the pressure from cheap prices of Ecuador and Indian shrimps is enormous.
According to VASEP, the US has been the biggest importer of Vietnamese shrimp, accounting for 20% of the density. Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the US started to slow down in May and constantly declined from June to August.
Shrimp exports to the US reached over USD 68 million in August, down 27%, leaving the accumulated value of the first eight months of over uSD 619 million, down 9% from the same period last year.
The inventory in the US reached the maximum level as businesses increased their importation earlier this year after two years of being hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and skyrocketing freight charges. In the face of poor consumption, importers have not placed new orders.
Meanwhile, the price of commercial shrimp stayed high, resulting in more disadvantages to processing and exporting companies.
“From September to the end of this year, the shrimp export value will sharply decline as compared to previous months”, anticipated Lực.
Sao Ta predicted that the consumption would be low till the end of the year due to the global inflation. The company is focusing on selling in nearby markets to cut down the shipping cost. and paying attention to consumers of refined products.
Lê Văn Quang, General Director of Minh Phú Seafood Corporation, said that the end of the year 2022 would be a difficult time to the shrimp market due to the inflation, pandemic, and weather conditions.
VFM
