The shrimp value chain must be raised to leave a deeper mark on the main exporting markets in 2022. Raising the shrimp value chain is also a message of the fifth Vietshrimp Aquaculture International Fair held in Cần Thơ city on April 12-14, 2023.
Promote advantages
According to recent statistics, the fisheries contribute over 3% to the Gross Domestic Product of Vietnam every year. Vietnamese seafood has been exported to 164 countries all over the world, with shrimp playing as one of the four key products and accounting for about 45% of the country’s total export value, providing jobs and income to around 700,000 households. The average growth rate of shrimp farming and processing for export purposes reaches 6.82%/year.
In spite of being full of potential and strengths, most of the factors in the shrimp value chain are loose and disconnected. This easily results in the fact that harvest is plentiful but prices are low; difficulties in control of quality, antibiotic residue level, food safety; a lack of capital for investing into production; and especially devaluation of shrimps.
According to experts, so as to raise the value of shrimp and the shrimp sector, the value chain must be paid special attention from breeding production, input materials, production organization, to processing and sales of shrimp products. It is necessary to enhance the Government’s management in the fisheries, restructure the farming area, determine proper species, complete the farming process, improve the value added of products, strengthen the management, supervision and prevention of diseases, and reorganize the activities of seafood processing facilities in accordance with a value chain.
Raise value chain
In the press conference related to the introduction of 2023 Vietshrimp held on May 24, Chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Society and Director of Organizers Nguyễn Việt Thắng said that despite changes of 2021, the shrimp sector of Vietnam brought in an unexpected success. As many as 747,000 ha of land was spent on brackish water shrimp farming (626,000 ha of black tiger shrimp and 121,000 ha of white leg shrimp). The output of shrimp of all kinds reached 970,000 tons (up 4.3% from 2020), with 265,000 tons of black tiger shrimp and 655,000 tons of white leg shrimp. The shrimp export value reached USD 3.9 billion (up 5.4% from 2020), making the shrimp continue to be one of key products of the fisheries and one of very few agricultural sectors bringing in over USD 3 billion worth of export value. Accordingly, the country achieved USD 1.3 billion from exporting shrimp in the first four months of 2022, up 38.6% from the same period last year.
However, in his opinion, Vietnam’s shrimp sector has not taken full advantage of the benefits of the shrimp value chain as there are certain “voids” in connection. “This is a problem that the shrimp sector must find solutions to promptly so as to put the Vietnamese shrimp to the first position. And this is also the message of the 2023 Vietshrimp”, said Thắng.
Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Society Phạm Anh Tuấn emphasized: “We usually talk about farming but processing and sales. We hope that this fair will not only exhibit farming technologies but also exchange, share and raise the value chain of the Vietnamese shrimp”.
Having poured his heart and soul into the shrimp sector for a long time, Nguyễn Văn Nhiệm, Chairman of the Mỹ Thanh Shrimp Association said that VietShrimp was fully expected by shrimp farmers as it was a big forum where updated technologies, modern products are exhibited and farmers and enterprises came to meet, talk and share useful information. The 2023 VietShrimp is expected to continue to bridge the communities so as to develop the Vietnamese shrimp sector effectively and sustainably.
The 2023 VietShrimp is the Fair of Vietnam Shrimp Technology Exhibition for the fourth time after being successfully held in 2016, 2018, and 2021. The fourth VietShrimp is expected to become a big “forum” where the four parties Managers, Scientists, Businessmen, and Farmers come to introduce new technologies and advanced models that helps connect the production and consumption so as to improve the output and value, assure the benefits of Vietnam’s shrimp sector, and advertise the image of Vietnamese shrimp in the world.
The Organizers said that the if Fair aimed to enhance the competitiveness of the Vietnamese shrimp in the global market and the quality of the product must satisfy the market demand and maximize the production effectiveness. Accordingly, every course of the shrimp production must be paid special attention, improved and put into a close connection to build a complete value chain for the shrimp. Since the result has not been as expected, “raise the value chain” should be the main target that the shrimp sector should achieve and the message of the 2023 Fair of Vietnam Shrimp Technology Exhibition, referred to as “VietShrimp 2023”.
VietShrimp has become a real Southeast and Asian class Fair specialized in shrimp. The Vietnam Fisheries Magazine and VietnamMedia Ltd Co are assigned to celebrate this event.
VietShrimp 2023 runs in three days from April 12 to 14, 2023 at the Can Tho Promotion Agency with about 200 stalls of businesses, domestic and foreign organizations related to shrimp and seafood. The fair involves seminars attended by experts, scientists, managers and businesses.
Sáu Nghệ
Nguyễn Tấn Như, Deputy Director of Cần Thơ Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: the title “Raise the value chain” of the 2023 VietShrimp is suitable with the current situation when the shrimp value chain has been completed and yet there are still lots of matters needed to be improved. Cần Thơ city is willing to company with the 2023 VietShrimp.
Nguyễn Việt Thắng, Chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Society and Director of Organizers of the 2023 VietShrimp: So as to enhance the competitiveness of the Vietnamese shrimp in the global market, the quality of the product must satisfy the market demand and maximize the production effectiveness. Accordingly, every course of the shrimp production must be paid special attention, improved and put into a close connection to build a complete value chain for the shrimp. Even though the matters have been paid special attention, the results have not been as expected.
