Quoc Viet: Chinas farming shortfall to keep shrimp prices firm

China’s 2017 shrimp production shortfall looks set to keep demand, and prices, firm for the remainder of this year, Ngo Quoc Tuan — commercial director with Quoc Viet Seaproducts — told Undercurrent News.

“China is a market that’s always growing, but its production this year has been low,” he said. “It’s becoming larger and larger as an importer for Vietnamese shrimp.”

Quoc Viet’s own market share there is small, he said, as the company has yet to find suitable partners to work with there. However, Chinese demand is such that it is importing shrimp from most major producing countries, bringing prices up across the board.

Tuan estimated prices for Vietnamese shrimp now were roughly $11 per kilogram, up 10% year-on-year. “The orders this year came early — in Q2 instead of Q3. Buyers globally wanted to make sure they secured their shrimp.”

This mentality looks set to continue, with Quoc Viet already fielding some orders through until Q3 of 2018, Tuan revealed.