HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Shrimpis a key export item of many provinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) RiverDelta, but the Covid-19 epidemic has caused challenges for exporters.

In the delta region, Ca Mau and Bac Lieu are the top two provinces inshrimp export volume.

According to Bac Lieu province's Department of Industry andTrade, the province’s shrimp export revenue in January reached 62 millionUSD, a year-on-year increase of 9 percent.

Ca Mau province earned 58 million USD in shrimp exports in January, an increaseof 8 percent over the same period last year, the Ca Mau Association of SeafoodExporters and Producers (CASEP) has said.

Tran Hoang Em, general secretary of CASEP, said the province had over 1.15billion USD last year in shrimp exports. Of the figure, exports to China were worth102 million USD last year, accounting for 6-7 percent of total exports, andnearly 7 million USD in January.

But due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, many Chinese importers havetold Vietnamese seafood exporters to suspend deliveries, hesaid.

The Ca Mau Department of Industry and Trade recently visited six seafoodexport companies in the province and discovered that seafood exports toChina via border trade had faced problems, but exporting bywaterway had not been affected much.

The buying volume from Chinese importers has also decreased due totransport restrictions, causing difficulties for enterprises indistributing the products.

According to the departments of Industry and Trade of localities in the region,if the epidemic continues for a prolonged period, it will cause adverse impactson local exporters, including a high risk of cancellation of ordersfrom importers.

If exporters face difficulties, they will reduce purchases of shrimpmaterials from farmers, resulting in a lower shrimp priceand affecting farmers’ income, they said.

Nguyen Viet Trung, head of commercial management division under the Ca MauDepartment of Industry and Trade, said the department would keep a closeeye on the epidemic situation and inform enterprises in a timely manner sothey can come up with appropriate business plans.

They will also coordinate with relevant agencies to untiedifficulties faced by exporters, especially in terms of capital.

Bac Lieu province will also have measures to support enterprises in productionand export, and will strive to ensure sufficient material shrimp outputfor processing as well as the quality and traceability of the shrimp.

"Businesses need to boost exports to other markets rather thanfocus on the Chinese market amid the Covid-19 epidemic,"Trung said. “In addition, local firms should take advantage of theEU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which will come into effect this year, topromote shrimp exports to the market.”

The Bac Lieu Department of Industry and Trade said it expected that theexport of frozen shrimp to Australia and other markets would increase in thecoming time.

The Vietnam Association ofSeafood Exporters and Producers said that EU shrimp imports accountsfor 31 percent of the world’s total shrimp imports.

When the FTA comes into effect, local exporters will have a great opportunityto boost exports thanks to lower tariff duties. But to benefit fromthe FTA, Vietnamese shrimp products must meet requirements prescribed under thetrade agreement, the association said./.