Vietnam’s shrimp sales recovered in October, but the nation’s processors are still facing disruptions from the country’s worst-ever COVID-19 outbreak.
Vietnam exported USD 425.3 million (EUR 377.6 million) worth of shrimp in October, down 1.5 percent year-on-year, but higher than September’s USD 308.5 million (EUR 274 million) figure and the USD 282.7 million (EUR 251 million) in sales recorded in August, according to data from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Year-to-date through October, vannamei accounted for around 77 percent of Vietnam’s total shrimp export value, up 9 percent year-on-year, while black tiger shrimp accounted for 16 percent, up 1.8 percent year-on-year, with wild-caught shrimp exports down 39 percent by value. Vietnam’s vannamei output reached 85,300 metric tons (MT) in the month, a marginal increase of 0.4 percent year-on-year, while its black tiger shrimp production declined 0.9 percent to 33,600 MT.
The U.S. remained the top destination for shrimp from Vietnam, with USD 117.7 million (EUR 104.5 million) in sales, 19 percent higher year-on-year. In the first 10 months of 2021, U.S. purchases of shrimp from Vietnam surged 22 percent to USD 892.7 million (EUR 792.7 million). VASEP said demand for larger-sized shrimp is on the rise in the U.S., pushing growth in the country’s shrimp industry through the first quarter of 2022.
Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the E.U. also rose in October 2021, moving up 13 percent to USD 74 million (EUR 65.7 million). For the calendar year through October, the E.U. had purchased USD 482 million (EUR 428 million) of shrimp from Vietnam, up 10.4 percent from the same time period in 2020. The top buyers of Vietnamese shrimp within the bloc were Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Vietnam’s shrimp sales to China fell 36.5 percent year-on-year to USD 43.5 million (EUR 38.6 million) in October, and have dropped 25 percent to USD 341.5 million (EUR 303.2 million) in the first 10 months of 2021. VASEP attributed the decrease to China’s heightened health inspections on imported frozen-food cargoes, which have delayed clearance of shipments into Chinese ports.
Prices for shrimp in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta have risen for almost all sizes recently, VASEP said. Bangkok, Thailand-based seafood trader Siam Canadian said in its November market that rates for vannamei have continued to increase since the summer, especially for smaller-sized shrimp. Vietnam’s shrimp farmers have leaned toward growing shrimp larger due to their higher profit margins, resulting in a shortage of smaller-sized shrimp.
Prices for head-on, shell-on (HOSO) shrimp of 100 pieces per kilogram rose to USD 4.37 (EUR 3.87), up from USD 4.33 (EUR 3.84) per kilogram in October, while rates for 60-count shrimp also grew to an average of USD 5.51 (EUR 4.9) per kilogram from USD 5.42 (EUR 4.81) per kilogram. Prices for larger sizes are stable, the company said.
The rise in prices of smaller sizes is possibly attributable to higher demand from China and other Asian markets, according to Siam Canadian. Most U.S. and European orders for the upcoming holiday season have already delivered, Siam Canadian said.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic remains a concern to the overall health of Vietnam’s shrimp sector. New cases have surged again in many localities in the Mekong Delta, including seafood factories, which incurred additional cost for pandemic-containment measures.
“Due to COVID, processing capacity of seafood factories is up and down like a daily tide. There are more infections recorded in all provinces,” Siam Canadian said. “The government is still trying to enact the best possible measures to control pandemic while recovering production activities and rescu[ing] the exhausted economy. Many processors can only run their factory at 20 percent to 30 percent of normal capacity.”
Photo courtesy of VASEP
