The amount of space dedicated to farming shrimp in Vietnam has increased this year in line with government calls to expand the Southeast Asian country’s shrimp export trade. Furthermore, because of the shorter grow-out, higher yields and stable prices, many black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) farmers have switched to whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) production.
According to local reports, as of 20 September 2016, the total area focusing on black tiger shrimp production was estimated at 582,700 hectares, an increase of 0.6 percent, which yielded a total harvest of 174,400 metric tons (MT), down 2.5 percent year-on-year. In particular, the area for black tiger farming in the Mekong Delta was estimated at 562,501 hectares (up 1.3 percent), with an output of 169,012 MT (down 4.7 percent).
At the same time, the area dedicated to whiteleg shrimp farming totaled 80,000 hectares, up 6.3 percent, with the harvested volume totaling 200,000 MT, up 4.2 percent year-on-year. Of that, the area in the Mekong Delta reached 62,300 hectares (up 18.3 percent), with an output of 151,700 MT, up 11.1 percent.
According to Vietnam’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, who has urged relevant sectors and enterprises to grow the industry and turn shrimp into a national strategic product, the country’s farming area is expected to reach 660,000 hectares with a production of 680,000 MT this year. As a result, its shrimp exports will exceed USD 3 billion (EUR 2.7 billion).
In 2015, Vietnam harvested a total of 600,473 MT of shrimp, comprising 255,873 MT of black tiger shrimp and 344,600 MT of whiteleg shrimp.
In the first seven months of this year, Vietnam’s shrimp exports totaled USD 1.6 billion (EUR 1.4 billion), representing an increase of 4.6 percent year-on-year, with the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) attributing the growth to stronger demand from main markets and an upward trend of global shrimp prices caused by an overall supply shortage.
Vietnam currently exports shrimp to 75 markets. But the top 10 importers – including the United States, the EU, Japan and China – make up 95 percent of Vietnam’s total shrimp export turnover.
