While Vietnam has successfully handled with the shrimp EMS (early mortality syndrome), the epidemic has been spread out in many countries, including Thailand. This could be the golden opportunity for Vietnam to become the biggest shrimp exporter.
The chance has come
Chair of the Thai Shrimp Association Somsak Paneetatayasai said Thai shrimp exports in 2013 may decrease sharply by 50 percent due to the EMS. Only 20-30 percent of shrimp ponds in the country still keep operation.
The EMS began having big influences to the shrimp hatchery industry of the country in 2012, with the syndrome infected by both black tiger and white leg shrimps.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the sharp decline in Thai shrimp exports has made the frozen shrimp prices in the US and Europe surge by 20 percent in recent months and double over the last two years. The price in Japan has also increased by $5.5 per kilo.
Tran Huu Loc, who found the causes of EMS, said the epidemic has reached out to Mexico, and if it is spread out in South America, the shrimp prices would be increasing even more sharply.
Meanwhile, in Vietnam, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) have affirmed that the percentage of dead shrimps has decreased significantly due to the lower farming density.
Japan has raised the permitted ceiling Trifluralin residue level for the shrimp imports from Vietnam from 0,001ppm to 0,5ppm, which has helped the Vietnam’s shrimp exports to Japan in the first five months increase by 3.6 percent.
Vietnamese exporters have found new markets in South America, the Middle East and Asia. China remains the third biggest importer. In the first five months of the year, Vietnam exported $108.5 million worth of shrimps to the market, up by 17.9 percent over the same period of the last year.
The shrimp epidemics in South East Asia have forced the regional countries to increase the imports to satisfy the domestic market and the processing for export. Therefore, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to ASEAN countries have increased by 15.5 percent.
Danger is over, difficulties exist
2012 was the most difficult time of the shrimp farming industry. With the capital burning out and debts burdening, a lot of farmers had to give up farming because they could not access bank loans.
Thanh Tra newspaper reported that 30,000 hectares of shrimp farming area in Mekong River Delta suffered from the epidemics. Local farmers now need at least VND900 billion worth of capital to resume the hatchery.
Besides, Vietnam also needs more capital to develop the shrimp growing areas and carry out trade promotion campaigns in new markets. It is expected that Vietnam needs $70-100 million a month to import shrimp materials.
Though Vietnam has successfully controlled EMS, farmers are still facing a lot of difficulties. VASEP’s Secretary General Truong Dinh Hoe has called for urgent preferences to fulfill the plan on exporting $2.4 billion worth of shrimps in 2013.
VASEP has proposed to lower the shrimp material import tariff to zero percent and asked banks to restructure debts and continue providing loans.