Minh Phu Seafood plans to build a new shrimp processing factory this year in the Mekong Delta. The new plant, the Minh Phat, will have an annual capacity of 30,000 metric tons (MT) of finished products.
Ca Mau, Vietnam-based Minh Phu, which is the largest Vietnamese exporter of shrimp to the United States, is scheduled to begin work on the project in the Mekong Delta Province of Ca Mau in May 2021 and construction is expected to take one year. The company estimates the new factory’s cost at VND 1 trillion (USD 43.3 million, EUR 35.7 million).
The decision to construct the Minh Phat was made after Minh Phu canceled a plan to expand its existing Minh Phu Ca Mau factory, also located in Ca Mau, in November 2020. The land area previously reserved for the expansion will now be used for the construction of auxiliary projects to support the company’s business operations, the company said. Minh Phu Ca Mau has capacity to process 3,000 MT per month.
As part of the company’s expansion plan, on 17 February, Minh Phu announced a decision to increase the chartered capital of its Minh Phu Kien Giang subsidiary in the Kien Giang Province by 48.6 percent, or VND 398.4 billion (USD 17.3 million, EUR 14.2 million) to VND 1.22 trillion (USD 52.9 million, EUR 43.5 million). The additional funds will be used to expand the firm’s farming activities at Minh Phu Kien Giang, which is one of the key farming areas for the company.
Minh Phu reported Q4 2020 sales revenue of VND 4.35 trillion (USD 188.5 million, EUR 155 million), an increase of 3.5 percent compared with the same period in 2019. Its net profit between October and December 2020 jumped 172.9 percent year-on-year to VND 142 billion (USD 6.2 million, EUR 5 million).
The company attributed the profitability to rising supply from its own high-tech farms in Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Kien Giang provinces, which helped lower production cost during the period. The reduction of some of the firm’s financial costs also contributed to higher profits in the quarter.
Minh Phu’s sales value in 2020 declined by 15 percent to VND 14.33 trillion (USD 621 million, EUR 511 million), but its net profit rose 38.3 percent to VND 617 billion (USD 26.7 million, EUR 22 million).
Earlier this month Minh Phu announced that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reversed a ruling that had accused the Vietnamese exporter of illegally evading U.S. antidumping duty order on certain frozen warmwater shrimp from India.
In its affirmative determination released on 13 October last year, CBP’s Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate (TRLED) said it found “substantial evidence” Minh Phu Seafood had imported shrimp from India, processed at its production facilities in Vietnam, and exported it to the U.S. But on 11 February, CBP decided to reverse the 13 October decision, saying it had found no substantial evidence the Vietnamese exporter had evaded the antidumping duty. Along with this decision, Minh Phu is expected to receive a refund for money it had already paid to ensure compliance, which had been at a cash deposit rate of 10.17 percent.
Photo courtesy of Minh Phu
