Viet Uc Seafood, Vietnam’s leading supplier of postlarvae shrimp, is facing a slowdown in sales to local farmers, who are concerned the COVID-19 pandemic will depress the global shrimp market.
Shrimp farmers in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta typically begin stocking in their first crop of whiteleg shrimp from January to April and will finish harvesting by early July. But many farmers are afraid to begin stocking ponds, a company representative told SeafoodSource.
To encourage farmers to proceed with their farming plans, Viet Uc is providing an assistance package to farmers who it said are “struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Part of that package includes a 50 percent price drop for postlarvae shrimp, according to the official.
The company sold 20 billion postlarvae in 2019 and has set the goal of selling an equivalent total this year, but that will likely not happen due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the company representative said.
“Many exporters are having to keep their products at storage systems as exports have become more difficult. Some turn to sell domestically. Therefore, it is likely that material prices will go down, causing local farmers to be hesitant to begin new crops,” she said.
But the official said the company is planning for demand for shrimp to recover significantly after the pandemic passes its peak, and it urged farmers to be prepared for that possibility.
“We have learned that consumers in the United States and Australia, for example, are stockpiling and this has resulted in shortage of goods. They will possibly import a lot when the normal situation is restored,” she said.
Viet Uc is hoping for a return to business as usual by the sector’s second crop, which typically completes stocking in September and ends harvesting in December.
Viet Uc announced on 11 November, 2017, that it successfully produced broodstock shrimp after years of research efforts, and it remains the only Vietnamese company that produces shrimp broodstock, with Vietnam’s other shrimp-farming firms importing broodstock from the United States, Singapore, and Thailand.
The company operates nine hatchery facilities across the country’s southern, central, and northern regions.
Photo courtesy of Viet Uc
