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.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietfish 2026, the Vietnam International Seafood Exhibition, will officially take place from 19–21 August 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City. As Vietnam’s largest annual seafood trade event, organized by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietfish 2026 will once again bring together leading seafood companies, industry experts, and international partners from across the global seafood value chain.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached USD 1.1 billion in July 2026, up 4.8% compared to the same period in 2025. Cumulative exports in the first seven months of the year totaled nearly USD 6.86 billion, an increase of 11.5% year-on-year. Exceeding the USD 1 billion mark in July further reinforces the prospect that Vietnam’s seafood exports could surpass USD 12 billion in 2026. However, the July figures also send a clear signal that the most favorable growth period may have passed: overall export growth slowed to just 4.8%, pangasius exports fell 6.1%, tuna exports were virtually flat, while exports to the EU, South Korea, and the Middle East all recorded double-digit declines.
(vasep.com.vn) As part of the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish 2026), the seminar "Global Seafood Market and the Future Workforce: Trends, Opportunities, and Sustainable Development Pathways for Vietnam's Seafood Industry" will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. on August 19, 2026, at Convention Room B, Level 2, SECC, Ho Chi Minh City. This is the first of five specialized seminars at Vietfish 2026, focusing on key issues that are shaping the long-term development of Vietnam's seafood industry.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnamese seafood exports recorded impressive growth, generating nearly 6 billion USD in revenue during the first six months of the year, up 13% compared with the same period last year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Fishermen in Ha Tinh are gradually overcoming difficulties to maintain the efficiency of seafood exploitation. In the first six months of 2026, the entire province achieved a production of more than 23,000 tons of seafood, worth more than 1,200 billion VND.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) June 2026 brought encouraging signs for Vietnam's tuna exports, with export value rising 20% year-on-year to nearly USD 72 million. However, this increase has yet to offset the prolonged slowdown seen in key markets such as the European Union (EU), where import demand remains weak. The outlook for the second half of the year is expected to become more challenging as freight rates continue to climb.
(vasep.com.vn) As part of the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish 2026), the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in collaboration with the Agency for Domestic Market Management and Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, will organize the Domestic Seafood Supply–Demand Matching Program on the morning of August 20, 2026, at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), Ho Chi Minh City. The program aims to foster direct business connections between Vietnamese seafood producers and processors and domestic distributors, retailers, and foodservice channels.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Cooking Show will be one of the most engaging experiential highlights of Vietfish 2026. Taking place over three days, from August 19–21, 2026, at Hall B1, SECC, Ho Chi Minh City, the event will offer visitors a vibrant culinary space where Vietnamese seafood is showcased through its flavors, stories, and real-life culinary applications.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam's pangasius exports reached USD 205 million in June 2026, up 5% compared with the same month in 2025. Cumulative export value for the first six months of the year totaled USD 1.1 billion, an increase of 12% year-on-year. Growth was primarily driven by strong demand from China and CPTPP markets, while exports to the United States and Brazil continued to decline.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first six months of 2026, Ha Tinh province continued to implement comprehensive solutions to combat IUU fishing; strictly manage the fishing fleet, control fishing vessels entering and leaving ports, operate vessel tracking devices, trace the origin of seafood, and severely punish violations.
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
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