In Can Tho city’s Thot Not District, for instance, a large number of catfish farms have been left deserted, while local farmers, who used to be billionaires from selling the fish, are now seeking buyers for their land plots.
In one typical example of the chain of debt, local farmer Ho Van Nghia said that in July 2011 he sold 260 tons of catfish at VND23,500 a kilogram to An Giang-based Vinafish Export Import Corporation. The contract was worth a total of VND6.3 billion, and was expected to be settled within 30 days.
However, the processor delayed fully repaying Nghia, and ended up owing him VND4.7 billion at the end of last year.
Even though he took the company to court, Nghia still has not gotten back his money.
“I myself owe bank loans and feed suppliers more than VND3 billion, and selling my house and land is the only way to have enough money for settling the debt,” said Nghia.
“Dozens of other farmers are in the same situation.”
Plants shut down, workers lose jobs
For its part, Vinafish Co has laid off most of its workers due to the lack of input materials, according to some laborers who are still working for the heavily indebted company.
An employee of the company also admitted to Tuoi Tre that Vinafish’s workforce has been slashed from 600 to only 100 laborers.
When the company is able to buy fish for raw material, usually 30 tons at most, it simply hires some day laborers for processing, he said.
“But many other processors are doing the same thing, since this is a common problem in the seafood processing and exporting sector,” he protested.
Many of the 21 seafood processing plants in An Giang Province have reduced the number of workers, or have even shut down.
Even workers who have yet to be fired have considered returning to their hometown, as they cannot make ends meet with the modest wages due to the material shortage.
Nguyen Thi Thanh, a seafood worker, said she used to work for An Khang Co, and had move to several other firms after the company went insolvent.
But the other companies have also worked perfunctorily.
“Due to the material shortage, the plant has repeatedly closed,” said Thanh.
Domino collapse
Seafood experts said what is most dangerous to the seafood sector is the domino collapse of the debt chains, if banks continue to tighten credit to the processors.
Under the banks’ tightened credit policy, seafood companies cannot access bank loans, and thus have no capital to buy fish from farmers.
Farmers will then have no money to replay feed suppliers, or reinvest in their farming, experts warned.
Duong Ngoc Minh, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), said seafood companies used to need only the fish buying contract to be eligible for bank loans.
“But they are no longer able to do so under the current credit policy,” said Minh.
“VASEP figures show that less than 10 percent of businesses have cleared their payments with farmers on time.”
80% of plants cut production
As many as 80 percent of the seafood processing plants have had to cut production, and some even had to shut down operations, confirmed Minh of VASEP.
In Can Tho, the total production of the 12 local plants has dropped from 1,200 tons a day to only 300 tons a day, he said.
The fish processing plants’ shutdown has also lead to the closure of many seafood feed processing plants, he added.
“More than 70 percent of the fish feed manufacturing plants are in trouble, 40 percent of which have had to stop operation,” elaborated Minh.
According to the Can Tho Seafood Association, fish farmers have given up their farming en masse, resulting in the raw material shortage, while seafood processors have faced capital shortages to buy materials.
Earlier, since many processors have prolonged catfish payments to farmers, or even defaulted on the debts, many farmers have also demanded the latter pay them in cash in advance to be able to receive the fish.
This has also exacerbated the short supply of materials, the association said.
(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.
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
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