Hanoi(VNS/VNA) - Vietnamese shrimp producers are accelerating production toreach their export target this year. 

Shrimp processing enterprises in Ca Mau, Soc Trang and Bac Lieu – the threeleading localities in shrimp output and production of the country – are facingdifficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures.

For the firms, it is not only difficult to circulate goods, buy and sell seed,harvest shrimp, but also causes a shortage of workers, so factories have alsohad to reduce processing capacity by 60-70 percent.

Minh Phu Seafood Corporation has set a target of maintaining more than 70 percentof their production capacity from now until the end of this year by activelyapplying safety measures for pandemicprevention.                                                                        
A representative ofMinh Phu Corporation said to achieve the target, the corporation has providedpersonal protective equipment for nearly 10,000 of its employees.

Currently, the demand for shrimp imports from key markets has many positivesignals. The US and EU markets have eased social distancing measures, reopenedand vaccines are being widely administered. Demand for shrimp imports fromthese markets, especially large-sized shrimp, is very high from now untilNovember to serve Christmas.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade reports that in the remaining months thisyear, demand for shrimp in the European and American markets has been bouncingback. In addition, incentives on tariffs such as in the Vietnam -Europe FreeTrade Agreement (EVFTA), will continue to help Vietnamese shrimp products becompetitive in the European market.

Vo Van Son, Deputy General Director of Ca Mau Seafood Processing andImport-Export JSC (CAMIMEX), said his company’s nine-month export turnover wasestimated at 42 million USD. The remaining months will become the peak ofpurchasing, processing and exports for shrimp exporters. CAMIMEX willstrive to obtain its export sales of between 62- 70 million USD for2021.

In the first nine months this year, despite many difficulties due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, his company had prepared measures to maintain production andbusiness performance during periods of social distancing.

With flexible measures in production and pandemic prevention, shrimp processorsand exporters in the Mekong Delta have come a consensus to fulfill their exporttargets for 2021.

Vietnam’s aquatic product exports are forecast to rake in 8.4 billion USD thisyear, equivalent to the figure in 2020, according to the Vietnam Association ofSeafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The export value of shrimp is predicted to reach about 3.8 billion USD, upthree percent year on year. Meanwhile, the export of tra fishis likely to earn 1.5 billion USD, equal to last year's turnover, and seafoodexports are predicted to drop three percent to 3.1 billion USD.

According to VASEP Vice Secretary General Nguyen Hoai Nam, seafood productionand exports will recover slowly and continue to face difficulties until the endof the year due to a lack of raw materials and labourers, and an increase incosts of labour, transport, and COVID-19 prevention.

The ratio of workers vaccinated against COVID-19 in provinces with a thrivingfishery industry remains low, he noted, adding that the localities should givepriority to increasing the vaccine coverage for workers in seafood productionchains.

In the future, it is necessary to effectively and practically implementmechanisms and policies to support workers, especially those related to socialinsurance, unemployment insurance, and trade unions, Nam said.

He suggested authorities continue to support enterprises in accessing newloans, reschedule debt repayments, reduce interest rates and issue mechanismsto stabilise prices and production costs./.