Export of seafood - business perspective of Vietnamese enterprises

Most large enterprises in the field of aquaculture and seafood processing have factories and raw material areas in the South and the Mekong Delta. These are also two areas heavily affected by the recent fourth wave of the epidemic, when more than 3 months had to maintain production and business activities in a moderate state.

Mr. Ho Quoc Luc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sao Ta Food, said that the mentality of the seafood industry this year is very different. Some businesses are happy, some businesses are hesitant for the upcoming period, there are many businesses worried about not completing their contracts.

In 2021, although the whole industry reaches the finish line, not many businesses can keep the same efficiency as the previous year due to many reasons such as increased input materials, labor costs, medical costs for prolonged disease screening. Especially, the rent for empty containers to markets as far away as North America and the EU increased sharply.

Despite the common challenges faced by all businesses, there have been units in the shrimp and pangasius industry that have recorded outstanding business results in the past year compared to the previous year. The quick resumption of production and the promotion of exports in the last 3 months of the year have become the clearest evidence demonstrating the internal strength of enterprises.

Vinh Hoan Joint Stock Company is always the first name mentioned when talking about the seafood industry in general and pangasius in particular. As the market leader, Vinh Hoan had business results that outperformed its peers in the most difficult quarter of the past year and even made a strong comeback in the last 3 months of the year. net revenue increased by nearly 40%, reaching nearly 2,700 billion dong. Vinh Hoan's gross profit margin last year was at more than 19%, which is nearly 5% higher than in 2020.

Last year, Vinh Hoan reported a net profit of 1,110 billion dong (up 54% compared to the previous year).

In the shrimp industry, Camimex Group and Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company continued to maintain growth momentum.

Specifically, Sao Ta recorded an increase of nearly 18% in net revenue, along with an increase in net profit of nearly 27%. Last year's net profit margin of this company increased slightly compared to the previous year when reaching 5.5%.

Although on a smaller scale than Sao Ta (in terms of revenue), Camimex Group's positive business results last year also contributed greatly to promoting the overall growth of the industry. This Ca Mau-headquartered company recorded a net profit increase of 38% compared to 2020, reaching nearly VND 83 billion. However, Camimex Group's net profit margin last year decreased slightly compared to the previous year when it reached only 3.7%.

The target of Vietnam's total seafood export turnover in 2022 is at the same level as in 2021. As for the shrimp industry, Mr. Ho Quoc Luc realizes that the business activities of enterprises have prospered since the beginning of the year and are promising. conquering the $4 billion milestone this year is within reach.