In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in Vietnam, the country’s shrimp hatcheries are facing difficulties importing broodstock and transporting post-larvae, according to a representative from Vietnam’s General Department of Fisheries speaking at a recent shrimp-focused seminar.
The transportation of shrimp broodstock from the U.S. and Thailand has been limited due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, according to the official. It now takes 60 hours and costs between USD 40 and USD 60 (EUR 34 and EUR 51) per count to ship shrimp broodstock from the U.S. to Vietnam, up from 45 hours and between USD 20 and USD 30 (EUR 17 and EUR 25) pre-pandemic.
Furthermore, hatcheries from Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces, which supply to 70 percent of the demand for post-larvae shrimp in the Mekong Delta region – adding up to billions of shrimp post-larvae per month – have struggled move their goods there due to strict regulations limiting movement around the country in order to curb the virus’ spread.
In response, at the beginning of July, the hatcheries began reducing capacity, and as of 15 August, most of the hatcheries had reduced production by half or suspended operations entirely.
The hatcheries are also encountering difficulties buying aquafeed, as the strict lockdowns have also reduced the capacity of their suppliers. Vietnam has 35 shrimp feed plants, producing about two million metric tons of feed per year. But two of those faiclities have shut down due to active COVID-19 outbreaks, and the remaining 33 facilities have significantly curtailed their operations due to labor restrictions caused by the outbreak, according to Vietnam’s General Department of Fisheries.
There are currently 2,063 shrimp hatcheries in operation in Vietnam, producing an estimated 106.6 billion post-larvae per annum, including 75.8 billion vannamei post-larvae and 30.8 billion black tiger shrimp post-larvae. Vietnam currently has 55,000 shrimp broodstock, including 50,000 vannamei and 5,000 black tiger shrimp. In normal conditions, Vietnam’s hatcheries can produce between 7 billion and 10 billion per month, and can boost production to 12 billion in case of high demand.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), between 30 and 40 percent of all seafood companies in Vietnam’s seafood-producing south region remained open at the beginning of September. But these companies have seen their collective processing capacity decline by between 50 and 60 percent compared to before the current COVID-19 outbreak. VASEP estimates that the seafood processing capacity of the Vietnam’s south region has fallen by between 60 and 70 percent.
However, the crisis appears to be easing somewhat. Last week, a number of provinces in the Mekong Delta, including Long An, Kien Giang, An Giang, Bac Lieu, Vinh Long and Ca Mau, shifted from implementation of Directive 16 to Directive 15, easing their social-distancing requirements. While there is no timetable for removing all of the restrictions currently in place in Vietnam, if and when that happens, VASEP said the 30 to 40 percent of seafood companies in southern Vietnam currently shuttered will be able to quickly resume operation.
Photo courtesy of Minh Phu
