Vietnam’s shrimp exports this year are anticipated to enjoy a slight increase of 10-15 percent against last year, a Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) official told a meeting on Friday.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development hosted the meeting in Bac Lieu Province, southern Vietnam to roll out tasks to boost the growth of freshwater shrimp farming in the country throughout 2024.

Tran Thuy Que Phuong, chief of the VASEP Office, presented possible challenges and opportunities for the local shrimp sector at the event, forecasting uncertainties in 2023 could linger on into this year that would prompt the sector to further experience slow growth.

However, a projected 10-15 percent increase in shrimp export growth would be a silver lining for the sector, as some shrimp importers’ economy is making a steady rebound, Phuong said.

Local shrimp exporters are ramping efforts to promote deep processing and produce more added-value products, adding that there is a growing demand for seafood-based sources of protein, the VASEP official said.

Besides, the U.S. and China would remain the biggest buyers of Vietnamese shrimps in 2024, constituting some 40 percent and 45 percent of the Southeast Asian country’s total shrimp export revenue, respectively.

Due to the impact of the conflicts in the Middle East and soaring logistics costs, several countries in close proximity to Vietnam like Japan, South Korea, China are anticipated to be the source markets of the sector, she added.

Speaking at the meeting, vice-chairman of the Ca Mau administration Le Van Su said that Ca Mau’s aquatic export revenue reached over US$900 million last year, even though this Mekong Delta province had been in the billion-dollar export ‘club’ for many years.

The billion-dollar export ‘club’ includes member localities whose outbound sales of aquatic items surpass $1 billion each.

He attributed the lower-than-expected export sales to ineffective and disconnected shrimp farming in the province.

He suggested that relevant agencies should support shrimp farming localities in seeking more effective technical solutions to enhance the latter’s business outcomes and reduce production costs.

Lowering production costs would help facilitate the growth of the sector, the vice-chairman said.

Data from the ministry showed that freshwater shrimp farms nationwide covered a total area of 737,000 hectares last year, equivalent to the 2022 figure.

The shrimp output was 1.12 metric tons in 2023, up 5.5 percent year on year, but the export revenue fell nearly 20 percent against 2022 at $3.45 billion.

The ministry is set to achieve at least $4 billion in shrimp export turnover this year.

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