Strong exporter demand sends fish, shrimp prices rising

Workers process tra (pangasius) fish for export at a local factory - PHOTO: TRUNG CHANH

CAN THO – The growing demand for unprocessed fish and shrimp in the Mekong Delta, helped by a surge in exports, has sent their prices soaring.

Nguyen Huu Nguyen, head of the Fisheries Cooperative of Chau Phu District in An Giang Province, said unprocessed tra (pangasius) fish of small size is priced at VND26,000-27,000 a kilo, up by VND3,000 over the previous month. Meanwhile, he added, the price of fish of bigger size is VND24,500-25,000 a kilo, up VND2,000-2,500.

The demand for tra fish has stabilized in some foreign markets, thus fueling the consumption of unprocessed fish, he noted.

Vo Hong Ngoan, a farmer in Bac Lieu Province, told the Daily that the price of giant tiger prawn ranges from VND240,000 to VND300,000 a kilo, up VND5,000-10,000 against half a month ago.

The supply for shrimp has been falling while the demand for shrimp export has been growing, especially in the rest of the year, thus making the price of the crustacean higher.

White-leg shrimp sells for VND103,000-165,000 a kilo, up VND5,000 against haft a month ago, according to Nguyen Van Hau, a Ca Mau Province farmer.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said in a report that the nation had made US$1.9 billion in shrimp export revenue in the year to July, an 18.5% rise against the same period last year.

Japan imported US$383.8 million of shrimp from Vietnam, up 35.2% year-on-year. The European Union came in second with US$380.6 million, up 20.5%, followed by China with US$348.4 million, up a staggering 106.3%.

The nation shipped US$344.7 million of shrimp to the United States, a year-on-year decline of 5.5%. However, VASEP forecast the situation would improve in the months to come.

A Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development report said seafood export turnover in the year to August had amounted to US$5.13 billion, up 18.1% against the year-earlier period. Among the main buyers were China, South Korea, Japan and the U.S., which made up 55.6% of the total.

VASEP general secretary Truong Dinh Hoe predicted Vietnam could earn US$2.7-2.8 billion in the last quarter and meet the full-year target of US$8-8.1 billion.

The report also said that in January-August, the total area under tra fish farming nationwide rose by 1.9% year-on-year to more than 4,700 hectares while output increased by 10% to over 815,000 tons.

The acreage of brackish water shrimp nationwide expanded 4.2% from a year earlier to around 679,000 hectares. Farmers harvested a total of about 363,000 tons, up 21.4%.