Start walking together

STO - On May 24, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) in collaboration with the Binh Thuan Shrimp Breeding Association organized a seminar on the topic "For a sustainable shrimp industry" to find a common voice, break down barriers that have been slowing down the development of the shrimp industry... through a new alliance between links in the value chain of Vietnamese shrimp production.

Opening the discussion, Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe - General Secretary of VASEP emphasized that shrimp farming is an important issue for the entire shrimp industry and in shrimp farming, shrimp seed is one of the very important input factors, which greatly determines the success rate of each crop. This is also the reason why VASEP and the Binh Thuan Shrimp Seed Association decided to sit together to find solutions to remove obstacles for this first link. Mr. Nguyen Hoang Anh - Chairman of the Binh Thuan Shrimp Seed Association said that shrimp seed only accounts for about 5 - 7% in the cost structure of shrimp farming but contributes up to several dozen percent in the success rate of each crop. "Therefore, we decided to take shrimp seed as the starting point for a shrimp industry alliance to gradually solve the difficulties and barriers of the shrimp industry, making the shrimp industry develop more and more sustainably" - Mr. Nguyen Hoang Anh shared.

Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe - General Secretary of VASEP delivered the opening speech at the seminar. Photo: TICH CHU

This is an open discussion, so Mr. Nguyen Hoang Anh suggested that all parties need to disclose all hidden corners of the shrimp industry, focusing on the issue of breeds so that the parties can find a common voice in seeking an effective and sustainable alliance solution. Commenting on the current status of shrimp farming from the perspective of shrimp farmers, Mr. Ho Quoc Luc - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company said that although farm-scale shrimp farming has many advantages, it currently accounts for a very small area and only contributes about 10% of the total annual shrimp farming output. Meanwhile, the number of small-scale farming areas and households are assessed to be at the highest risk, with the lowest farming success rate (about 40%) but account for a very large proportion and contribute up to 90% of the total shrimp farming output serving the domestic and export markets. This is also the force that needs the most support in terms of capital, infrastructure, market information, seasonality, models and especially the origin and quality of input factors, including breeds.

The issue of shrimp seed is also affirmed by Mr. Vo Van Phuc - General Director of Vietnam Clean Seafood Joint Stock Company as very important for the farming profession. However, there are currently too many small shrimp seed suppliers, making it difficult to control quality. In fact, in years of great shrimp losses, the disease factor from shrimp seed accounts for a fairly high proportion. Mr. Phuc proposed: "In the context of increasingly difficult shrimp farming, shrimp seed production companies need to share with farmers about ensuring high survival rates, competitive prices and especially need to publicize and transparent information so that farmers have more choices".

Regarding the low success rate of shrimp farming due to the seed factor, Mr. Le Van Quang - Chairman of Minh Phu Seafood Corporation said that due to limitations in capital, information, technology, etc., most small-scale farmers still want to buy cheap seeds, seeds with high promotions and use high-protein feed in a very wasteful way. While infrastructure, technology and capital conditions are limited, small-scale farmers want high productivity and large shrimp, so they often stock shrimp at high density, leading to shrimp being easily damaged. Mr. Le Van Quang shared: "It is necessary to change the mindset and farming methods of small-scale farmers to gradually increase the success rate of this force so that the shrimp industry can develop sustainably". According to Mr. Vo Quan Huy - Chairman of My Thanh Shrimp Association, it is necessary to develop standards and move towards assigning stars to hatcheries to publicize and make information transparent and also for farmers or the entire farming area to have a fair assessment of the farms.

Contributing to the goal of cooperation between the shrimp seed chain and VASEP, Mr. Ho Quoc Luc proposed to focus on providing information according to the needs of farmers on the quality of seeds of each hatchery and along with that, the price of shrimp in the world. This is within the reach of VASEP and the Binh Thuan Shrimp Seed Association to help small-scale farmers avoid buying seeds that are not assessed as good quality, contributing to limiting risks and increasing the success rate of farming. The second issue is to find capital sources for small-scale farmers by guiding them to participate in the new chain that has been and is being formed because small-scale farmers currently have difficulty accessing direct loans from banks. The final issue is that the Government, ministries, branches and localities need to pay more attention to investing in improving infrastructure in farming areas.

The cooperation between the two links: seed and export processing in this first step, according to Mr. Ho Quoc Luc, is extremely necessary and urgent, contributing to supporting the farming link, creating a more balanced and effective foundation for the whole chain, so it is necessary to soon form regulations and standards with high consensus in assessing the quality of farming facilities. The next step should have the participation of other links in the shrimp value chain such as: feed, farming products, traders and cannot be without the timely support role of the Government and related ministries and branches.

With the determination for the goal of sustainable development of the shrimp industry, Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe said that after this seminar, VASEP will continue to work with the Binh Thuan Shrimp Breeding Association to agree on some core contents and prepare for the next seminar with the participation of other links in the shrimp value chain, expected to be held about 1 month from now.

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