Seafood enterprises have faced a serious lack of production and business capital since early this year, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
In the second quarter this year, 92.3 percent of seafood firms need working capital of between VND 10 billion (USD 476,190) and VND 500 billion (USD 23.81 million), said Nguyen Minh Tam, a VASEP representative.
Ninety percent of companies expected credit line to increase to VND 10 billion (USD 476,190) in minimum and VND 1.4 trillion (USD 66.67 million) in maximum, said Tam, while 53.85 percent need between VND 2 billion (USD 95,238) and VND 300 billion (USD 14.29 million) for developing investment activities such as upgrading equipment and factories in regions rearing fish and shrimp.
Difficulties in accessing capital have kept enterprises from purchasing fish and shrimp for export while farmers refrain from selling on credit, she said. Farmers have avoided losses despite firms being unable to pay their debts, such as in the case of Binh An Seafood Company.
As a result, enterprises have been forced to import seafood for processing export products, she added.
