Foreign traders and domestic packers in Vietnam are rushing to purchase shrimp material for processing to serve the coming year-end seasons, Minh Phu CEO Le Van Quang told SeafoodSource this week.
In October, shrimp output in Vietnam declined by about 50 percent compared to previous months, as local farmers have already finished harvesting their second crop. Only a certain number of farmers applying high-tech aquaculture methods continued to seed in the third crop, with lower density. They are set to harvest the shrimp between the end of November this year and the end of January 2021, with output expected to account for between 30 percent and 50 percent of the second crop.
“Therefore, from the end of October this year until the end of March next year, material output in Vietnam will fall by one-half,” he said.
This month, a deluge of Chinese traders visited Mekong Delta farms and purchased large volumes of shrimp directly from farmers, according to Quang. Their favorite sizes were between 60-count and 120-count per kilogram, and their purchase prices were between VND 10,000 and VND 15,000 (USD 0.43 and USD 0.64, EUR 0.36 and EUR 0.55) per kilogram higher than the rates local processors were paying, Quang said.
Traders from Cambodia have also been traveling to the region to buy shrimp of 100- to 150-count per kilogram, with high purchase prices reported, Quang said.
Local processors are racing to purchase material for processing. Processors need to ship cargoes before 31 October so customers will have shrimp to sell during Christmas. Therefore, vannamei prices are expected to rise by between VND 3,000 and VND 5,000 (USD 0.13 and USD 0.21, EUR 0.11 and EUR 0.18) per kilogram for sizes of between 25-count and 120-count per kilogram.
“The limited material supply and the processors’ pressure to ship cargoes before the end of this month are likely to lead to a further increase in shrimp prices in Vietnam after 15 October,” Quang said.
Photo courtesy of Nguyen Quang Ngoc Tonkin/Shutterstock
