Ca Mau is Vietnam’s largest brackish-water aquaculture area, with over 417,000 hectares of farming zones and an annual output of more than 907,000 tons. Alongside shrimp—the province’s key product—sea crab is emerging strongly, with more than 365,000 hectares of farming area and an estimated annual output of 36,500 tons. However, official export figures for crab remain almost nonexistent, as most exports—valued at an estimated 700 million USD per year—are routed unofficially through border trade and thus are not reflected in the province’s export statistics.
At the conference, businesses pointed out that although the crab value chain is expanding, several challenges persist: seasonal fluctuations in output, weak and unstable market linkages, the absence of a unified traceability system, high logistics and preservation costs, and a lack of international certifications to access high-standard markets. Some countries, such as South Korea, have strong demand but impose stringent technical barriers that hinder market entry.
To enhance value and create stable demand, many enterprises are forming long-term purchasing partnerships with cooperatives, applying traceability technologies, investing in cold storage facilities, and standardizing packaging and transportation to ensure 100% live-crab deliveries. Several large supply chains have been established, providing farmers with greater production stability.
Between 2016 and 2025, Ca Mau’s crab farming area and output grew significantly, with 20,000 hectares achieving international certifications such as Naturland, ASC, and EU Organic. Many ecological crab products have entered major domestic retail chains.
The Ca Mau Department of Industry and Trade outlined five key solutions: diversifying markets and export methods; developing logistics infrastructure for live seafood; promoting digital trade and cross-border e-commerce; supporting enterprises in improving competitiveness and brand development; and strengthening international cooperation and trade promotion.
Vice Chairman Lê Văn Sử emphasized the need to establish a seafood export testing and verification center in Ca Mau. This would reduce costs, shorten inspection times, and ensure compliance with standards required by demanding markets—an essential step for Ca Mau crab, alongside Ca Mau shrimp, to expand official exports to Japan, South Korea, and Europe.
With strong potential, proven quality, and growing market recognition, Ca Mau crab can become a new strategic export product if a transparent, sustainable, and well-linked value chain is built, supported by enterprises, authorities, and local farmers. This will contribute significantly to the province’s socio-economic development in the years ahead.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s crab exports reached nearly USD 86 million, up almost 6% compared to 2024. A notable feature of 2025 was the strong market concentration in the United States, which accounted for more than 81% of Vietnam’s total crab export value, up 10% from the previous year. In contrast, exports to several Asian markets declined significantly, resulting in only modest overall growth for the year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s tilapia exports recorded impressive growth, with total export turnover reaching over USD 99 million, highlighting the increasingly important role of this product in the country’s seafood export structure. Of this total, tilapia fillets and other fish meat products accounted for USD 61 million, representing 61% of total export value and reaffirming their position as the key product category.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Shrimp seed quality is considered the “first link” and a decisive factor affecting the efficiency of the entire commercial shrimp production chain. High-quality seed directly influences survival rates, growth performance, and disease resistance, thereby determining production costs, productivity, and farmers’ profitability.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) As part of its agricultural restructuring strategy toward sustainability, Quang Tri Province is gradually promoting environmentally friendly aquaculture models. Among these, organic-oriented golden pompano farming is considered a promising direction, aligned with the goals of enhancing production value and building sustainable rural areas.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 marked a pivotal milestone for Vietnam’s seafood industry in its restructuring process toward sustainability, transparency, and higher value creation, amid continued uncertainties in the global economic and trade environment. Prolonged inflation in major economies, the rising trend of trade protectionism, and increasingly stringent requirements related to environmental standards, traceability, and social responsibility have posed significant challenges to seafood production and exports. Nevertheless, overcoming these pressures, Vietnam’s seafood sector has gradually demonstrated its adaptability, maintained growth momentum, and laid an important foundation for the next stage of development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Amid the increasingly evident impacts of drought and saltwater intrusion, the shrimp-rice production model in Ca Mau province continues to prove itself as a viable direction, contributing to higher farmer incomes, improved soil conditions and the promotion of ecological and sustainable agricultural development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The management of fishing vessels, monitoring of fishing activities, and handling of violations in the fisheries sector in Lam Dong province have continued to be implemented in a synchronized and stringent manner, contributing to raising awareness of legal compliance among fishermen and aiming to end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Can Tho’s fishery industry sustained steady growth in 2025 with total aquatic and marine output reaching nearly 783,000 tons, fulfilling 100% of the annual target. Aquaculture, capture fisheries and fishing fleet management were further strengthened, aiming for sustainable development in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s pangasius export turnover reached nearly USD 2.2 billion, up 8% year-on-year. This result indicates that pangasius exports maintained their growth momentum despite significant volatility in the global market environment. In December 2025, pangasius export value reached USD 200 million, up 10% compared to December 2024. This solid performance in the final month of the year reflects increased import demand for consumption and inventory replenishment in key markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Spain experienced significant fluctuations. According to Vietnam Customs, during the first 11 months of 2025, export turnover for the first 11 months of the year edged up by 0.3% year-on-year, reaching nearly $15 million.
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