Vietnam’s leading shrimp exporter, Minh Phu Seafood, has seen a surge in demand from its foreign buyers, the company’s chairman and CEO Le Van Quang told SeafoodSource on 9 April.
In February and March, customers in major markets had to postpone or cancel orders due to the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 in their respective countries.
“But many of them are coming back. Their stockpiles are running out and they are pushing us to deliver cargoes as soon as possible,” Quang said.
A customer from Hong Kong, for example, did not respond to Minh Phu’s offer to sell four containers in late March. But in early April the customer came back and wanted eight containers, with half of it delivered by 15 April, and the rest by the end of this month.
According to Quang, the orders rose because of an increase in demand for retail and online shopping sales from Minh Phu’s customers in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, Europe, Japan, and the Middle East. They need smaller sizes between 31-40 count per kilogram – which have been the top choice for consumers in several countries during the pandemic – and want cargoes to be delivered as soon as possible because they will soon have “nothing to sell.”
Meanwhile, orders for bigger sizes of less than 30 count per kilogram have not recovered, as restaurants, casinos and cruises in many countries – especially in Europe and the U.S. – have not resumed operation.
As the outbreak has stabilized in mainland China, their traders are making a return to Vietnam. They offer higher prices, buy between 50 to 70 metric tons (MT) per day from farms in Mekong Delta, and ship the fresh shrimp to China for consumption. The favorite sizes are 31-40 count per kilogram.
In addition, several traders from neighboring Cambodia are also rushing to buy material shrimp in Vietnam. The purchase volumes are possibly heading to China, as Cambodia is a small market for shrimp, Quang said.
Amid rising demand, Minh Phu is struggling to fulfill orders from its customers. The company had to hike material prices by about 15 percent in just a few days, from 4 to 8 April, in order to buy more material from local farmers. But it is still facing material shortages as its processing plants can only operate at around 70 percent of capacity.
At present Minh Phu buys 200 to 300 metric tons (MT) of both whiteleg shrimp and giant tiger shrimp a day for processing. The supply from its Loc An farms in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, and Kien Giang in Kien Giang Province, is about 30 MT a day.
Quang said the material shortage may not be handled soon because many farmers harvested their shrimp in early March, due to fears that the COVID-19 pandemic would result in losses. As a result, many farmers don’t have much product to sell. But, according to Quang, farmers should more confident now, and will likely begin stocking ponds later this month.
At least two industry sources confirmed on 9 April that the shrimp material prices in Mekong Delta have rebounded in recent days. But the level of the price increase varies, depending on sizes.
Photo courtesy of Lensaz/Shutterstock
