Shrimp processing plant. (Photo: Seafood from Vietnam)

More seafood exporters leave the business

Seafood exporters dropped in number during the first quarter of 2012 as a consequence of a dearth of capital and reduced exports. About 30 per cent of seafood enterprises this first quarter put a stop to production due to a combination of lack of capital, high production costs and pressure stemming from convoluted red tape, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has informed.

The number of seafood exporters skid by 300 to 500 in the first quarter of 2012, according to the General Department of Taxation's official report, VASEP said.

This development is expected to affect yearly export targets, commented Nguyen Hoai Nam, VASEP's deputy general secretary.

Many of the companies in question had gone bankrupt, he noted, VNS reports.

Nam blamed the economic crisis tightening its grip across the globe, stricter credit policies and falling operational capital for the problems that seafood producers are up against.

On the other hand, fewer seafood exporters may help the fisheries industry become more sustainable, opined Duong Ngoc Minh, VASEP's deputy chairman.

The firms that put an end to their exporting operations generally did not have processing factories of their own, he said, and they had shut down their businesses because they did not have enough export orders.

Minh said he believes the fisheries sector must cut the number of companies in need of capital, proper management and insufficient investment.

VASEP announced that in the second quarter of this year, 92.3 per cent of seafood firms said they needed a working capital of between USD 476,190 and USD 23.81 million.

Meanwhile, the fisheries industry’s exports amounted to USD 1.5 billion in the first four months of 2012, representing a year-on-year increase of 12.5 per cent, VASEP said.

Vietnam seafood exports have achieved over USD  1.3 billion in Q1, showing a 15 per cent jump from the same period of last year. Unprecedentedly, black tiger shrimp exports fell for three consecutive months while whiteleg shrimp exports improved.

The value of seafood exports increased mainly in Asia, whereas in the European Union (EU) it skid by 12.2 per cent to USD 299.4 million.

Other key export markets saw an increase of between 15.6 per cent and 38.1 per cent to between USD 38 million and USD 296.9 million compared to the same period of 2011, including the US, Japan, South Korea, mainland China and Hong Kong, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia.

Seafood exports in the second, third and fourth quarters of the year will probably not improve due to the ongoing economic crisis and strict quality standards, seafood experts warned.

Related article:

- Exporters push pangasius prices down

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Address:	218 Road No.6, Zone A, An Phu An Khanh New Urban Area, District 2
City:	Ho Chi Minh
State/ZIP:	( )
Country:	Viet Nam
Phone:	+84 086 281 0442
Fax:	+84 086 281 0450
E-Mail:	vasep-org@hcm.vnn.vn
More about:

Print