Vietnam’s shrimp exports are targeted to reach between USD 4.5 (EUR 4.2 billion) and USD 5 billion (EUR 4.7 billion) by 2020, requiring an annual increase of between 9.5 and 12 percent.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said these aims are set in the national action plan on developing the shrimp sector to 2025, to be submitted to the prime minister.
As mandated by the premier, the sector is to earn USD 10 billion (EUR 9.4 billion) by 2025 and should establish plans for “hi-tech shrimp production on large scale,” with a total brackish-water shrimp farming area of 750,000 hectares, producing 1.1 million metric tons (MT) of the crustaceans, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
A recent conference, held in the Mekong Delta, discussed ways in which the 2025 target will be realized. Speaking at the event, MARD Deputy Minister, Vu Van Tam, directed agencies concerned and localities to keep a close track of weather patterns and epidemic diseases as well as to increase their output.
Localities should adopt more technological advances in production, with a focus on controlling the quality of juvenile shrimp and implementing effective farming models, he suggested.
This year, the country has allocated around 700,000 hectares to shrimp production with a total input of 130 billion juveniles – expected to result in a harvest of 660,000 MT.
Vietnam is currently the world’s third largest shrimp exporter and the world’s leading exporter of giant tiger prawns.
Shrimp account for nearly 50 percent of the country’s total seafood export value. The highest value achieved by the sector top date was just under USD 4 billion (EUR 3.8 billion) in 2014.
In 2016, the trade totaled USD 3.1 billion (EUR 2.9 billion) and is forecast to reach USD 3.4 billion (EUR 3.2 billion) this year.
