Optimism in the Seafood Export Sector

Despite a slight fall in aquaculture and fishing in July against June, the export of seafood products is enjoying favourable conditions thanks to an increase in the import demand of the American market, and the EU.

According to reports by the Ministry of Fisheries, the fishing output reached 150,000 tonnes in July, bringing total output in seven months to around 1.07 million tonnes, equal to 61.15 per cent of the yearly plan and up by 2.4 per cent against the same period last year. A fall in comparison with June results from an increase in the price of oil and petrol, from VND 5,500 per litre to VND 6,500 per litre, which has led a reduction in output of some localities. According to fishermen in Kien Giang province, after an increase in the price of oil and petrol, each 500CV fishing ship has its production costs increasing by between VND 28 million and 30 million. With a drop in the selling price, it is possible that each ship will suffer a loss of between VND 30 million and 50 million. Hot weather has become a difficulty for fishermen as yellowfin tuna have moved further from the fishing area. As a result, fishing ships have to travel for a longer time, which has produced a negative impact on the quality of fish. The price, therefore, has dropped to VND 75,000 per kilogram. It is predicted that prices of fuel continue to increase and more ships will not be able to go out. This could cause damage to ’s fishing output and fishermen’s life.

Despite a fall in the fishing output, aquaculture gained a good result with the July output reaching 196,000 tonnes, thus helping bring total output of seven months to 808,000 tonnes, equal to 52.13 per cent of the yearly plan and up by 13.77 per cent against that of the same period last year.  It is time to harvest black tiger shrimps. Therefore, the Ministry of Fisheries has guided farmers to harvest large-sized shrimps to increase their value. As a result, prices of raw shrimps have not fallen. The price of raw shrimps in the Mekong delta has increased. The price has risen by between VND 8,000 and 10,000 per kilogram in Soc Trang. In Ca Mau and Kien Giang, one kilogram of 18 black tiger shrimps is priced at between VND 135,000 and 140,000, while one kilogram of 20 black tiger shrimps is priced at between VND 124,000 and 130,000. However, as and have begun to harvest their shrimps, the price of Vietnamese small-sized shrimps, one kilogram of which contains 30 black tiger shrimps, has dropped slightly.

The demand for Vietnamese black tiger shrimps, especially large-sized shrimps, remains huge. In late June, 2005, many American importers resumed their buying of Vietnamese shrimps, resulting in an increase of the raw shrimp price. The number of orders from the and has increased. A drop in the import of shrimps from and other countries is due to the fact that American importers waited until exporters bought bonds for DDP (delivered duty paid) export. However, the result was not as good as they expected. This has led to an exhaustion of the reserve volume of black tiger shrimps of American suppliers. At the same time, the harvesting output of some countries exporting to the fell. Thus, the ’s demand for imported shrimps has increased. Furthermore, at this time Americans are consuming more shrimps, American importers resumed their CNF (cost and freight) buying of Vietnamese shrimps with a big volume, mainly large-sized shrimps. The export of large-sized black tiger shrimps to the is optimistic. However, risks remain if any review occurs or import tax increases.

In the Japanese market, due to the anti-dumping lawsuit in the , exporters from relevant countries have concentrated on exporting to . As a result, Japanese importers have forced the price down. For example, one kilogram of between 16 and 20 shrimps is priced at US$10, dropping by between 14 and 15 per cent in comparison with the low price of US$11.5 last year. At present, the price of large-sized shrimps has increased but is still lower than the average price of last year.

The volume of shrimps exported to the EU continues to increase with the appearance of new importers. 

This is because , a major exporter to the market, has shifted to the .

As a result, the July export turnover reached around US$230 million, bringing the total export value in seven months to US$1.303 billion, equal to 52.12 per cent of the yearly plan and up by 7.27 per cent over the same period last year.

However, the Ministry of Fisheries said that the white meat of raw tra catfish, which is not infected with biotic substances and malachite green is not enough for export processing while the yellow meat of raw tra catfish, which is infected with biotic substances and malachite green is abundant as enterprises cannot process it for export, especially after the implementation of the Directive N⁰ 04/2005/CT- BTS dated April 4, 2005 by the minister of fisheries on the brands of frozen fish products for export.

Giang Tu