Vietnamese shrimp exporter Fimex (Sao Ta), which was able to increase its shipments in February, saw its export cargoes and sales value fall in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fimex sold 917 metric tons (MT) of shrimp in March, down 12.8 percent from 1,051 MT in the same month last year. Its export value in the month declined 4.7 percent to USD 10.2 million (EUR 9.4 million) from USD 10.7 million (EUR 9.9 million) a year ago, Fimex said in its March update.
In the first quarter of 2020, the company exported shrimp worth USD 30.7 million (EUR 28.4 million), 5 percent lower year-on-year.
Fimex said some of its customers in Europe, the company’s top market, have suspended orders. Shipments were also down because the company previously decided to limit its export contracts for March delivery in the expectation that the coronavirus outbreak would cause difficulties in its ability to fulfill contracts.
Last month, Fimex said it has not been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as its shipments to European Union, Japan, the United States, and South Korea remained strong in February. The company exported 937 MT of shrimp in February, up 24.9 percent from 750 MT in the same month last year. Its exports were worth USD 10.7 million (EUR 9.9 million), up nearly 29 percent year-on-year.
Fimex, headquartered in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, has its own farms on 190 hectares that supply material to its processing plants in the region. The company also buys shrimp from local farmers for processing.
Fimex’s March result is part of a growing trend of Vietnamese seafood exporters seeing plunging orders and material shortages due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo courtesy of Fimex
