Top Vietnam shrimp exporter to delist

Shrimp processor and exporter Minh Phu (MPC), Viet Nam’s biggest shrimp company, plans to delist its shares in order to charge higher prices for them.

“Listing is meant to raise funds, but for us it’s like being caged,” Minh Phu chairman Le Van Quang told the Saigon Economic Times.

The shrimp industry’s troubles began in 2011, when the shrimp price increased constantly. In early 2012, when disease destroyed shrimp in Viet Nam and Indonesia, importers thought the price would not decline any further so they made purchasing contracts for the whole year in advance.

However, in June, as the European debt crisis hit, Europe bought less shrimp and the price again decreased. Meanwhile, exporters from India and Bangladesh reduced their prices thanks to abundant supply. Indian shrimp prices fell rapidly from USD 14.5 for a pound of shrimp to USD 6.7.

“Big partners did not offer letters of credit, while some importers declared bankruptcy so they would not have to implement the signed contracts,” Quang said.

GreenFoods, Japan’s largest shrimp distributor, closed a week after prices bottomed. Although Minh Phu did not work with GreenFoods, only with its partners, the closing indicated just how disastrous the market had become to do business in.

Click here to read the whole story from Vietnam News Agency >

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