Vietnam’s largest shrimp producer, Minh Phu Seafood Corp., has seen its export volume hit a record high in August as its export contracts rose sharply this year.
Minh Phu exported 8,354 metric tons (MT) of shrimp in the month, rising 35.2 percent year-on-year to the the highest volume in its history, the company said in a statement on 18 September.
The company shipped 39,354 MT between January and August, up 18.3 percent from a year ago.
The firm’s August exports were worth USD 89.7 million (EUR 76.9 million), 17.9 percent higher than the same month last year. Sales value to the United States reached USD 43.6 million (EUR 37.4 million) in the month, up 42.4 percent year-on-year – making the U.S. the leading importer of Minh Phu’s shrimp, followed by Japan, the European Union, and South Korea.
High demand for Minh Phu’s products this year has resulted in several export contracts signed between May and September, Le Van Quang, chairman and CEO of Minh Phu, told SeafoodSource on 20 September.
“The export volume surged in August because our partners want to have the products delivered between July and mid-November,” Quang said, adding that the company’s monthly export volume between September and November will possibly surpass August’s.
Minh Phu gained export value of USD 441.8 million (EUR 378.6 million) in the first eight months, up six percent year-on-year, mostly from sales to the U.S., Japan, E.U., and South Korea.
Quang said the export volume to China in August was very small, at about one percent of the total export volume.
A large share of Vietnam’s shrimp exports to China is through land borders which is normally operated by small players. Minh Phu’s export volume to China in the first eight months remained modest, as it only exported products to China through official channels or ocean shipping. Even so, Minh Phu views the world’s most populous country as a potential market, Quang said, especially as Chinese authorities move to exert more control over gray market land-border trading and tighten their quality checks.
“[China] is a good opportunity for Minh Phu from 2019 on,” Quang said.
Minh Phu has aimed to export shrimp worth USD 800 million (EUR 685.4 million) this year, up 15 percent from 2017.
The company’s net profit during January-August reached VND 563.4 billion (USD 24.1 million, EUR 20.6 million), jumping 68 percent year-on-year.
It’s higher-than-expected performance in the first eight months has prompted Minh Phu to slightly raise its net profit target by one percent to VND 1 trillion (USD 42.8 million, EUR 36.7 million) this year, from its previous goal of VND 990 billion (USD 42.4 million, EUR 36.3 million), according to the company.
Minh Phu’s performance differed from shrimp exports of Vietnam in August. The country’s shrimp export value in August fell 17 percent to USD 346 million (EUR 299 million). From January through August, Vietnam exported shrimp worth USD 2.3 billion (EUR 1.99 billion), down three percent year-on-year.
