Shrimp prices in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region have been on the rise recently, but the shrimp sector is still facing significant challenges caused by the country's recent spike in COVID-19 cases.
Data from the country’s leading shrimp producer, Minh Phu Seafood, showed an increase in price for all sizes of shrimp in early October compared to two months ago, with growth rising faster for larger sizes than for smaller ones.
The price of 20-count shrimp on 7 October was VND 237,000 (USD 10.40, EUR 9.00) per kilogram, up 10.7 percent from VND 214,000 (USD 9.40, EUR 8.10) per kilogram on 2 August. The rate of 70-count shrimp on 7 October stood at VND 101,000 (USD 4.40, EUR 3.80) per kilogram, 7.4 percent higher than the VND 94,000 (USD 4.10, EUR 3.60) per kilogram on 2 August.
The price increase in bigger sizes is in accord with an outlook Minh Phu CEO Le Van Quang provided to local farmers last month. Quang said farmers, who were hesitant to stock due to the market uncertainties during the lockdowns in the region, should grow bigger sizes of shrimp demanded by processors racing to meet a surge in orders for the year-end holiday season.
However, Quang told SeafoodSource last week difficulties caused by the pandemic are still discouraging many local farmers from new seeding.
Limited farming activities in the Mekong Delta are hitting shrimp supply for processors, as the peak harvesting period has aready ended, according to Siam Canadian Sales Director for Vietnam Vo Thi Tuong Oanh. But Oanh said shrimp prices have recovered so far thanks to an easing of COVID-19 related restrictions as the country's worst-ever outbreak of the virus subsides.
However, Oanh also said many local farmers are not ready to begin stocking due to ongoing concern about the COVID-19 outbreak and unfavorable weather conditions.
Thousands of people have been allowed to return to their home provinces in the Mekong Delta, home to a significant chunk of Vietnam's shrimp-farming sector, after conditions improved in Ho Chi Minh City – the central hotspot in the ongoing outbreak, which has killed more than 15,000 residents in the city. But Oanh said there are fears the caseload in the Mekong Delta may rise due to this massive movement of people, and that provincial governments may apply stricter restrictions as a result.
Meanwhile, sky-high freight rates are also impeding Vietnam's shrimp exports, Oanh said.
Minh Phu exported 2,977 metric tons (MT) of shrimp in September, down more than 46 percent from the same month in 2020. Its export value in the month also fell 34.8 percent year-on-year to USD 39.6 million (EUR 34.3 million), according to Quang.
Photo courtesy of abdul aziz bin yunos/Shutterstock
