By 2025, shrimp exports aim for 4.3 billion USD

By 2025, shrimp exports are expected to reach potential markets such as Australia, the Middle East, the UK, and South Korea, with an export target of over 4 billion USD.

The information was given at the Conference "Developing the brackish water shrimp industry in 2025" held on the morning of February 14 in Bac Lieu. The conference was attended by leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, management agencies, scientists, businesses and shrimp farmers from many localities.

Vietnamese shrimp is present in 107 markets.

Reporting at the conference, a representative of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that despite facing many challenges, in 2024, Vietnamese shrimp was exported to 107 markets, an increase of 5 markets compared to 2023. The top 5 main markets include: China and Hong Kong (China), the US, Japan, the EU and South Korea. This group of markets accounts for 76% of Vietnam's total shrimp export turnover.

The conference "Developing brackish water shrimp industry in 2025" took place on the morning of February 14 in Bac Lieu.

Entering 2025, shrimp continued to be the item with the strongest growth in January 2025, with an export value of 273.349 million USD, accounting for 35.3% of total seafood export turnover.

Currently, the prices of some seafood products have increased, especially the price of raw shrimp. This is also a good sign for shrimp farmers to continue to maintain and expand the farming area in 2025.

However, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) believes that shrimp exports will grow in 2025 thanks to adjustments in production strategies and expansion of export markets. However, competitive pressure from the world's leading shrimp producing countries such as Ecuador, India and Thailand remains very high.

In addition, strict regulations from the US and EU markets on traceability and quality standards force Vietnamese export enterprises to improve their competitiveness to maintain market share.

Regarding the export market for the shrimp industry, Mr. Tran Dinh Luan - Director of the Department of Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - said that in 2025, according to experts' forecasts, the shrimp industry may continue to face many difficulties and challenges due to the world economy recovering more slowly than expected due to conflicts in many places around the world; prices of materials and gasoline continue to increase; global shrimp output continues to increase and reach about 6.1 million tons (in 2023 it will reach 5.7 million tons); competition between shrimp producing countries (Ecuador, India and China) continues...

Besides the difficulties, Mr. Tran Dinh Luan commented that in 2025, there were more positive signs such as the recovery of some major markets (US, Japan, EU) when Vietnam's shrimp export sales increased.

It is forecasted that the global brackish water shrimp supply may decrease in the first quarter of 2025 but continue to increase, reaching 6.1 million tons in 2025, with increasing demand in the US market (14%) and the EU (11%) while Chinese shrimp production is slowing down, Indonesia is decreasing in 2023-2024 and may gradually recover, which is both a challenge and an opportunity for the Vietnamese shrimp industry in 2025.

“Regarding raw shrimp prices, there may be a decrease at some point in 2025, especially around May-June 2025. We need to take advantage of the opportunity and have appropriate solutions,” Mr. Tran Dinh Luan recommended.

Set export target from 4 - 4.3 billion USD

According to the 2025 production plan, the demand for parent shrimp is about 260,000 - 270,000 (200,000 - 210,000 white-leg shrimp; 60,000 tiger shrimp); about 140 - 150 billion shrimp seeds (of which, 100 - 110 billion white-leg shrimp and 30 - 40 billion tiger shrimp). The shrimp farming area is 750,000 hectares (630,000 hectares of tiger shrimp, 120,000 hectares of white-leg shrimp); the output of all kinds of shrimp is 1.3 - 1.4 million tons, of which 350 thousand tons of tiger shrimp, 1,050 thousand tons of white-leg shrimp. Shrimp export turnover is from 4 billion USD to 4.3 billion USD.

2024 marks a year of great success for Vietnam's shrimp export industry. Photo: Thanh Hai

To ensure the 2025 plan and take advantage of opportunities for the sustainable development of the Vietnamese shrimp industry, Mr. Tran Dinh Luan said that the shrimp industry needs to continue to synchronously and uniformly deploy tasks, goals, and groups of solutions for industry development with the mindset of aquaculture economics instead of aquaculture production.

In particular, Mr. Luan also suggested that the Association promote production linkages, replicate effective production models and chains; maintain and develop output markets, and fight against technical barriers.

At the same time, mobilize seafood processing enterprises to fulfill their commitments/contracts with shrimp farmers on production plans and supply of raw materials for processing and export, ensuring plans on quantity, type and time for proactive production. Pay attention to building closely linked farming areas, connecting with farming facilities through product consumption contracts with investment, financial support, and sharing responsibility in monitoring and supervising the production process. Promote production linkages, replicate effective production models and chains; maintain and develop output markets, and fight against technical barriers.

For businesses and shrimp farmers, it is necessary to develop plans and prepare conditions to proactively produce in the new context and situation of the domestic and global shrimp industry, especially proactively researching new market requirements, applying new technologies/improving production processes and implementing them in the production process to ensure that there are no problems with new regulations.

“Enterprises exporting to the EU market need to prepare full procedures to prove carbon emission reduction, sustainable development, and not buying and selling products from IUU activities...." , Mr. Tran Dinh Luan recommended.

To increase competitiveness and achieve growth targets in 2025, VASEP believes that expanding export markets and improving competitiveness are key factors.

"It is necessary to strengthen trade promotion and expand export markets, especially in Japan, Korea and China. At the same time, businesses need to improve product standards to meet strict requirements on quality and traceability," said a representative of VASEP.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, businesses will continue to face a shortage of raw shrimp in the first quarter of 2025. Vietnamese shrimp will also continue to compete with Ecuador and India in terms of price and supply. Shrimp exports are expected to increase in potential markets such as Australia, the Middle East, the UK, and South Korea. If there is motivation to support and remove internal shortcomings in production, processing, and the entire value chain, shrimp exports in 2025 can reach a target of over 4 billion USD.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/nam-2025-xuat-khau-tom-huong-den-muc-tieu-43-ty-usd-373810.html