International certification for shrimp

STO - Besides the issue of taxes in the US market and competition from cheaper shrimp sources in other countries, shrimp farming also faces many other difficulties and challenges, one of which is technical barriers from importing countries. And to overcome this challenge, there is no other way than for farmed shrimp to meet the certification requirements of importing markets.

For shrimp, besides factors like appearance, quality, and price, achieving international certifications will open wider doors to penetrate more demanding markets with high consumption and value. For example, the EU market (including the UK), despite our advantages in terms of tariff preferences (through free trade agreements), advanced processing techniques meeting world standards, and competitive prices, has not seen the desired growth in recent years. One of the reasons for this is the relatively low volume of Vietnamese shrimp certified under the ASC standard.

Collaboration to eliminate small-scale shrimp farming is one of the solutions to increase the area of ​​shrimp farms that meet international certification standards. Photo: TICH CHU

The challenges facing the shrimp industry are clear and at their highest level ever. International certification organizations such as BAP and ASC are increasingly perfecting their control systems, surprising and overwhelming processing plants and farms. This is in addition to the growing requirement for product traceability in all importing markets for Vietnamese shrimp. Specifically for the premium segment, most markets now require certifications such as ASC, BAP, and ISO. Therefore, only shrimp farms with these certifications can successfully penetrate the premium segment.

Meanwhile, the area of ​​shrimp farms meeting international standards remains very low, one of the main reasons being that most farmers are small-scale, making it difficult for them to pursue certification due to the significant increase in assessment costs. Furthermore, the process of issuing shrimp farm registration numbers is very slow, causing considerable difficulties for businesses in demonstrating and convincing customers of their ability to control their raw materials. For large shrimp markets like the EU, major distribution systems require quality control throughout the value chain. This includes requiring shrimp seed and feed suppliers to meet standards such as ASC, BAP, and ISO. The second largest shrimp market, Japan, still maintains strict residue testing for all shrimp shipments from Vietnam.

For the US market, while more lenient, it's a hub for cheap shrimp from many sources worldwide, especially India, Ecuador, and Indonesia, limiting Vietnamese shrimp consumption due to price competition. The Canadian market prioritizes post-market inspection; they inspect a company's products on supermarket shelves, and if they fail to meet standards, the company's products circulating in Canada will be recalled and returned to Vietnam, posing a risk not only to individual batches but to the entire shipment. Meanwhile, the two relatively large emerging markets of South Korea and Australia focus on shrimp disease inspections, which are quite common in the Mekong Delta, making it very difficult for Vietnamese businesses.

Given this situation, businesses believe that the entire industry needs to accelerate action programs that are synchronized, practical, and have concrete effects, such as: promoting, inspecting, and decisively and thoroughly preventing the use of prohibited products in shrimp farming, especially banned antibiotics, starting now and maintaining this in the long term. Replanning farming areas and investing in infrastructure; reorganizing shrimp production on a farm and cooperative scale to meet market standards so that products can be sold in large systems at good prices, creating a breakthrough foundation for the quality, reputation, and brand of Vietnamese shrimp.

The next solution is to have more projects calling for investment in shrimp farming; and to implement land consolidation policies to form farms on a scale of hundreds of hectares, ensuring the conditions are met to implement complete intensive farming processes, minimize risks, increase productivity, reduce costs, and enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese shrimp. When the area of ​​shrimp farms meeting ASC standards reaches hundreds of thousands of hectares, Vietnamese shrimp will certainly dominate the high-end shrimp market segment in various markets, significantly contributing to achieving the goal of elevating the status of Vietnamese shrimp.

The challenges facing the shrimp industry are clear and at their highest level, so the most effective way to overcome them is to minimize mistakes. To achieve this, Vietnamese shrimp must first and foremost be clean, internationally certified, and easily traceable. This requires good control over input products used in shrimp farming; a program to build cooperation and establish large, standardized farms that are easily traceable, easy to implement, and capable of achieving international certifications to convince high-end consumers to accept higher prices. Synchronization among members of the value chain will be an essential requirement in the coming period.

Domestic raw shrimp prices have remained stable recently thanks to the processing capabilities of factories. However, in the long run, this will no longer be the case as other countries are also investing heavily in processing. Therefore, the shrimp industry needs feasible solutions to reduce production costs and increase the area of ​​certified shrimp farms to enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese shrimp in the global market. Only then can the shrimp industry develop effectively, sustainably, and fulfill its mission of "Elevating Vietnamese Shrimp."

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Source: https://baosoctrang.org.vn/kinh-te/202506/chung-nhan-quoc-te-cho-tom-188628c/