Fish prices fall, consumption is difficult
In the first 4 months of the year, seafood exports have continuously decreased sharply. Statistics show that in the first 4 months of 2023, seafood export turnover only reached over 2.6 billion USD, down about 36% compared to the same period in 2022. In particular, in large, traditional markets, such as the US, EU... the number of orders has decreased sharply.
The lack of orders has forced export businesses to cut operating capacity by 30-40%. Mr. Vo Van Phuc, General Director of Vietnam Clean Seafood Joint Stock Company (VinaCleanfood), said that in the first 4 months of 2023, the number of orders for the business decreased by more than 30%. The business had to stretch by giving employees rotating days off and reducing working hours by more than 40%, leading to a 40% decrease in income. The business also had to cut more than 1,000 employees out of more than 4,000 employees.
“Not only has the seafood consumption market declined, but recently, shrimp, tra fish, and basa fish products have also had to compete fiercely with some countries with cheap raw materials such as India, Indonesia, and Ecuador,” Mr. Phuc stated the reality.
The decrease in exports has affected the domestic raw material prices. In recent days, many households raising raw pangasius in localities such as Dong Thap, An Giang, Vinh Long, Can Tho City, etc. have been extremely worried as the price of fish has decreased, making it difficult to sell while the output ready for harvest continues to increase.
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| Declining exports cause difficulties for farmers |
Mr. Nguyen Van Hung (Binh Hung Commune, Hong Ngu City, Dong Thap) said that his family currently has a tra fish pond with a yield of 600 tons of fish, weighing 1 kg/fish, but has not been able to sell them. Therefore, he has to feed the fish sparingly, every one or two days to wait for the price to "increase", because even if he can sell them, they will only be sold for 27,000-28,500 VND/kg.
Large enterprises do not buy raw fish or buy at low prices. Meanwhile, small enterprises want to buy on credit. Currently, farmers are facing losses of about 2,500 - 3,000 VND/kg.
Mr. Vo Van Nhut, Deputy Director of Chau Thanh Agricultural Service Cooperative (Dong Thap) said that the cooperative has 16 members with more than 5,000 tons of unsold fish. Although the cooperative is constantly working with businesses to speed up the purchasing process, businesses are currently unable to buy more because there are no export orders and a large amount of inventory.
Businesses also need to be proactive
According to Mr. Vo Van Phuc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Clean Seafood Joint Stock Company, in the context of seafood export facing many difficulties, to overcome the immediate period and maintain exports, businesses must restructure appropriately; accept reduced growth, reduced labor and income.
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| Seafood exports face many challenges |
Along with that, to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese shrimp, Mr. Le Van Quang - General Director of Minh Phu Seafood Corporation proposed that the Government allow the establishment of a public-private partnership mechanism between enterprises and research institutes, such as the Aquaculture Research Institute II, in the following issues: Creating shrimp breeds that are resistant and adaptable to diseases, weather, climate and environment in each region; building and perfecting models of farming wild tiger shrimp, extensive tiger shrimp, semi-intensive tiger shrimp, tiger shrimp - rice, intensive tiger shrimp, intensive white-leg shrimp, high-tech super-intensive white-leg shrimp with low cost, suitable for each region...
"With these solutions, if we implement them this year and do it resolutely, the price of Vietnamese shrimp will be equal to India's before 2030, and equal to Ecuador's before 2035. Thereby, helping shrimp farmers get rich on their own land, helping processing enterprises have better profits to build a strong and sustainable shrimp industry" - Mr. Quang raised the issue.
Along with the efforts of enterprises, the Prime Minister recently requested relevant agencies to focus on removing difficulties for enterprises, such as promptly refunding value-added tax (VAT); promoting trade, especially in large and emerging markets; strengthening inspection of law enforcement, ensuring good implementation of traceability of aquatic products. At the same time, the State Bank was requested to proactively manage credit to provide capital for enterprises, creating favorable conditions for aquatic product production and processing enterprises to access credit capital.
With the above urgent solutions, many businesses hope to restore the seafood export market as soon as possible. Mr. Duong Nghia Quoc, Chairman of the Vietnam Pangasius Association, proposed that the Government and relevant ministries consider reducing import taxes on raw materials for processing aquatic feed, such as soybeans, from 2% to 0%, contributing to reducing input costs for fish farmers.
“Tax reduction will have a huge impact on reducing livestock production costs, because feed costs account for a large proportion of production costs. Once we reduce production costs, it will help us increase our competitiveness with other countries in the world…”, Mr. Duong Nghia Quoc commented.
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