(vasep.com.vn) In the first 8 months of 2013, Vietnam’s total fish production was estimated to reach over 3.78 million MT, up 2.4 percent from the compatible time of 2012.
In which, capture production registered over 1.7 million MT (up 2.06 percent) and aquaculture production reached approximately 2.1 million (up 2.73 percent).
From the early year to Aug 2013, the country used 600,000 hectares for shrimp farming including 570,000 hectares for black tiger shrimp farming and 25,200 hectares for whiteleg shrimp farming. Harvested shrimp production reached 133,000 MT including 93,000 MT of black tiger shrimp and 40,000 MT of whiteleg shrimp.
In August 2013, fish farming activities were still under pressure due to unfavorable weather conditions. Besides, pangasius demand from global markets is instable and Vietnam shrimp exports to the U.S. face obstacles caused by countervailing duty. In this situation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) directed that fishery industry needs to intensify whiteleg shrimp farming in coming months because the species has potential consumer markets.
Whiteleg shrimp farming has some advantages such as low input costs for farming, short farming period, high productivity.
In the first 7 months of 2013, whiteleg shrimp exports reached US$609 million, representing an increase of 51.5 percent from the same period of 2012 and accounting for 43.7 percent of Vietnam’s total shrimp export turnover. While black tiger shrimp exports reported a growth of only 1.3 percent.