Export: Too Much Fish But Lack Of Shrimps
Update: (12/7/2009)
On the contrary to the prediction of enterprises and specialists which assumed that at the end of this year the situation of too much fish but lack of shrimps would happen and fish would have more opportunities, the fact is vice versa.
Russian market: not as
good as expected
In the middle of this year, after there was information that Russia would open
the market again for pangasius for Vietnamese seafood exporters, a lot of
predictions was made about the production of exporting pangasius to Russia in
this year from 70.000 tons to 120.000 tons. That was hope for pangasius in the
situation of decreasing situation of the global market due to economic
recession.
Furthermore, at that time, for enterprises, Vasep and specialists in
agriculture, global economic recession affected Vietnamese economy but
pangasius was an exception. Seafood specialists explained that consumers would
be saving in their expenditure when the price of pangasius was cheap and
suitable for consumers of many markets.
However, currently, when some markets have positive signs, export to Russia and
Ukraina which have been two main markets of Vietnamese pangasius in 2008 is
decreasing to the level which is considered to be “unstoppable decrease”.
In last October, Russian market just bought 400 tons pangasius of 0.6 million
USD which decreases 95% compared to the same period last year and much lower
than 8,000 tonnes of the previous month.
It is the fact that many enterprises of exporting pangasius consider Russia as
a “hope” for a gloomy picture of this year’s seafood market. However, on the
contrary to report, after opening the market again, export pangasius to Russia
decreases continuously and that is the reason why pangasius export in this
October was just 500.000 tonnes of which value was 1.12 billion USD, 10% below
the value of the same period.
In the middle of the year, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
predicted that pangasius export could reach 1.5 billion USD but now, many
enterprises think that export is just 1.2-1.3 billion USD.
Farm owners are in great difficulties
Pangasius export decreases, the stock which was processed of enterprise in this
November is so many, the price of domestic material pangsius decreases sharply
and enterprises even do not want to buy. According to owners of many large farms
in Dong Thap, price offered by enterprises is just 14,500-14,800 VND/kg.
Mr Cap Van Nha, farm owner in Dong Thap calculates that just expenditure for
feed is 12,500 VND/kg fish as well as expenditure of breeds, caring, water and
electricity, the total expenses to farm fish in farm scale (in smaller scale,
the price could be higher), is 14,500 VND/kg which is equal to the buying price
of factories.
However, “the buying price offered by factories costs great loss to farmers
because we do not cover the bank interest and the loss of 15-20% in production”
Mr Nha noticed.
Shrimps’ prices increase again
Fish which was expected to be not enough is too much when shrimp which was
predicted to be superfluous is lacking seriously. According to Vasep, during
the recent half of this month, material shrimps provided to factories of
processing seafood in Cuu Long Delta decrease sharply.
Kim Anh company in Soc Trang, one of large shrimp exporter, which used to buy
50 tons material shrimps every months, buy just 10 tons when the price of
shrimps increases 15,000-20,000 VND/kg. According to it, shrimp of 20
shrimps/kg costs 150,000 VND/kg, shrimps of 30 shrimps costs 110,000-120,000
VND/kg, shrimp of 40 shrimps costs 90,000 VND/kg which increases averagely
15,000-20,000 compared to that of October.
The reason is simple, the demand of consuming shrimps on global market still
has increasing tendency when the area that has not been harvested in Cuu Long
Delta is not many and enterprises improving buying to process for Christmas and
New Year.
As fish, last year, many
households farmed shrimps and suffered loss. Thus, this year’s area decreased
and the area cannot meet the demand. Mr Huynh Thanh Tan, Director of Cases
company in Ca Mau considers that beside lack of shrimps, bad weather also makes
caught shrimp decrease. In Cases company, bought shrimps just meet 60% the
production demand.
Export seafood in the first 10 months just reaches 3.488 billion USD which
decreases 9.7% compared to the same period last year.
Source: Kinh te Sai Gon
