Leveraging natural advantages to enhance product value
Cà Mau has been restructuring its shrimp sector to align with value chain development. The province encourages the formation of cooperative groups, cooperatives, and shrimp farming clubs to improve access to capital and technical assistance. As a result, the improved extensive farming model has been widely adopted by local farmers.
In Thới Bình district, over 32,000 hectares are under extensive shrimp farming, of which about 17,000 hectares apply the improved high-yield model. Farmers have seen clear benefits from using this model, including greater application of scientific techniques, reduced production risks, improved environmental protection, and better-quality shrimp.
Mr. Trần Văn Giới, a farmer in Tân Phú commune, successfully implemented the two-phase improved extensive model on a 2-hectare farm. He stocked 30,000 domesticated black tiger shrimp postlarvae and harvested over 450 kg of shrimp after just over three months. The shrimp reached sizes of 15–16 count/kg. After deducting costs, his net profit exceeded VND 80 million per crop—significantly higher than traditional methods.
Low-cost, farmer-friendly practices
The improved extensive model retains many characteristics of traditional shrimp farming—such as low stocking density, minimal chemical input, and reliance on natural feed sources—while introducing refinements like better seed management, scheduled mineral and probiotic supplementation, and occasional direct feeding. Importantly, implementation costs remain low at just a few hundred thousand dong per hectare, making the model accessible to small-scale farmers.
This model not only reduces production costs but also contributes to environmental improvements by minimizing waste discharge, improving water quality, and promoting clean, green farming practices.
Toward sustainable production and value chain integration
As of 2025, Cà Mau has developed approximately 127,600 hectares of improved extensive shrimp farming linked to value chains, involving over 64,800 households. Average yields reach 550 kg/ha/year, with a projected total output of nearly 71,000 tons for the year.
To further improve efficiency, the province is investing in infrastructure, piloting demonstration farms, upgrading broodstock and input quality, and providing suitable financial support. At the same time, technical training, extension services, and science-based production methods are being promoted.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is encouraging cooperative-based production through access to land, credit, digital technology, and branding support. Cooperatives are being supported to apply safe, organic, and good aquaculture practices (GAP) to meet market demands and enhance product value.
Planning efforts are also underway to consolidate improved extensive farming areas into concentrated production zones, especially in shrimp–mangrove and rice–shrimp ecosystems. These areas are being developed in line with organic and sustainable farming orientations.
With strong local engagement and favorable environmental conditions, Cà Mau’s improved extensive shrimp farming model is emerging as a viable path toward sustainable aquaculture development and improved rural livelihoods.
(vasep.com.vn) On November 11, 2026, in Can Tho, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) will organize the Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026) under the theme “Seafood Market Outlook 2027–2029: Opportunities and Headroom for Double-Digit Export Growth.”
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Business leader Do Ngoc Tai, General Director of Tai Kim Anh Seafood Processing Joint Stock Company, was honored by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) with the title “Outstanding Vietnamese Entrepreneur – Thanh Giong Cup 2026” at a ceremony celebrating Vietnam Entrepreneurs’ Day (October 13). The event took place on the evening of October 11, 2026, at the National Convention Center in Hanoi.
(vasep.com.vn) The global tilapia market is becoming increasingly segmented, not only among producing countries but also by product type and destination market. Supply is divided into groups with distinct competitive advantages: large volumes of whole fish and frozen fillets from Asia, high-value fresh fillets from Latin America, and substantial domestic consumption in several major producing countries.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tuna exports to the UK grew in the first eight months of 2026, despite signs of slowing import demand in the market. However, sharp fluctuations in orders, competition from major suppliers, and new traceability requirements are creating challenges for Vietnamese exporters.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam is stepping up efforts to combat illegal fishing, protect marine ecosystems, expand digital monitoring, and develop science-based management to ensure the sea can support communities and the economy for generations to come.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The EU remains a critical market for Vietnamese shrimp; however, purchasing demand and import patterns are undergoing notable changes. According to Vietnam Customs data, as of September 15, 2026, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the EU reached nearly $374 million, down 5% year-over-year and accounting for 10.7% of the country’s total shrimp export value. Meanwhile, the EU’s stotal shrimp imports through July 2026 contracted by 7% in volume, exhibiting divergent trends across Southern Europe, Northwestern Europe and Eastern Europe. These dynamics necessitate that Vietnamese enterprises closely monitor individualized market demand, rather than approaching the EU as a monolithic consumer block.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s exports of surimi and fish cakes remained relatively stable year-over-year compared to 2025. Following a contraction in the initial months, export performance demonstrated improvement from June onward, peaking in August. However, the recovery has been uneven, characterized by divergent trends across major markets: robust growth was recorded in China, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, and Taiwan, whereas export volumes to South Korea, Indonesia, and select European markets contracted.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Pangasius remains one of Dong Thap’s key aquaculture species, with the province focusing on developing an integrated value chain covering seed production, commercial farming, deep processing and by-product utilization. The province is promoting high-tech, circular pangasius farming models featuring reduced water exchange and enhanced biosecurity, aiming to improve production efficiency and strengthen control over raw material quality.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in September 2026 are estimated at US$1.135 billion, up 11.9% year-on-year, bringing total exports in the first nine months of the year to US$9.103 billion, up 11.4%. Behind this double-digit growth, however, increasingly divergent market trends are emerging: China–Hong Kong and ASEAN posted strong growth, while the U.S., EU and Japan all recorded declines in September.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Brazil became the largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, with export value reaching US$44 million, up 22,142% year-on-year and accounting for 49% of Vietnam’s total tilapia exports. In August alone, exports to Brazil reached US$4 million. However, behind this remarkable growth is a market that is imposing increasingly stringent requirements on imported supplies.
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