Opportunities for seafood exports in the last months of the year

Main seafood export markets such as the US, EU, Japan... are recovering, with the Covid-19 pandemic controlled, demand is high, opening up opportunities for Vietnamese seafood.

On September 4th, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien chaired an online meeting on seafood production and consumption in the last months of 2021 to assess the difficulties and obstacles during the Covid-19 pandemic with functional units under the Ministry along with businesses and associations producing and trading seafood.

According to Mr. Tran Dinh Luan, Director of the General Department of Fisheries, total fishery output accumulated by the end of August 2021 is estimated at nearly 5.7 million tons (up by 1.4% over the same period in 2020; equal to 66.2% of the 2021 plan). However, August output is estimated at 801.4 thousand tons, down by 2.6% over the same period and the first decreasing month in 2021.

With such circumstances, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien suggested localities, businesses and associations of seafood industry to join the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in bringing this field back to its normal operation.

Bui Ba Su, Deputy General Director of Sales of Vietnam - Australia Group, said that the US, European and Japanese markets are recovering very quickly after controlling the Covid-19 pandemic, along with that, demand for seafood imports, particularly shrimp, has also increased.

"The demand for shrimp and seafood at the end of the year in these markets is an opportunity for farmers and businesses to advance together," added Mr. Bui Ba Su.

To capitalize this opportunity, the representative of Vietnam - Australia Group proposed to vaccinate fishery workers. People who receive 1 injection or more after 14 days are allowed to resume production. According to Mr. Su, this will help factories restore output, smoothen consumption and input purchasing, leading to increased seafood prices, bringing benefits to farmers.

In addition, this group also proposed the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) to participate and coordinate in the price determination for each size of shrimp, thereby making appropriate recommendations to farmers. "If we can manage this, we will avoid the risk of imbalance in the farming and processing structure of different types of products", Mr. Su analyzed.

The representative of Vietnam - Australia Group also shared that, despite many difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic, the group still accompanies farmers in the seafood industry. In addition to providing high-quality seed sources, subsidy programs are also implemented by both Vietnam and Australia.

Regarding seizing the year-end opportunity to achieve the year plan, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that it takes about 3 months to raise shrimp until harvest, so urgency is necessary for shrimps to be harvested at the end of the year.

He said, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will participate to solve the problem of purchasing, production and transportation, so factories can maintain operation. “If transportation is segmented, goods cannot be sold leading to full warehouse, full pond . We must not let this happen,” noted Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien.

In terms of output, the target for the year is 8.6 million tons, but so far, it has only reached approximately 5.7 million tons, with 2.9 million tons remaining for the last 4 months of the year. Therefore, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien asked units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to monitor the annual consumption regulation to come up with a suitable production scenario.

"In order to achieve the seafood export goal of USD 8.8 billion, we need to quickly overcome immediate difficulties and make full use of market opportunities during the upcoming Christmas and New Year," Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien emphasized.