Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Vietnam Association of SeafoodExporters and Producers (VASEP) has asked the Government to strengthen thecontrol of temporary imports for re-export of shrimp from India and Ecuador.

VASEP said that China was moving to buy Indian and Ecuadorianshrimps rather than Vietnamese shrimps as they say it is larger in size andvery cheap. VASEP wants the Government to minimise commercial fraud in thisactivity through the northern Hai Phong Port to China.

This is one of the recommendations written in a letter thatVASEP sent to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), as theprice of shrimp has dropped significantly in recent times. It is expected todevelop sustainable production and export of shrimp from Vietnam.

In order to share the current difficulties with shrimpfarmers, VASEP said that suppliers of shrimp breeds should consider reducingprices of feeds and other necessary things for breeding, for the breeders.

Meanwhile, VASEP recommended the Government and MARD havesupport policies to encourage input suppliers to have a buying and sellingmechanism with appropriate price policies for farmers, helping them overcomedifficulties and stabilise shrimp price in the future.

VASEP also urged the Government to discuss this issue withthe US side during high-ranking diplomatic activities so that they couldquickly remove trade barriers, particularly the imposition of anti-dumpingduties on Vietnamese shrimp.

“This is a big obstacle for the competitiveness of Vietnameseshrimp in the US market recently,” the letter noted.

In the long run, to increase the value of shrimp in theinternational market, Secretary-General of VASEP Truong Dinh Hoe, said thatVietnamese shrimp must be bred in accordance with international standards suchas Aquaculture Stewardship Council and Best Aquaculture Practices. Thus,Vietnamese shrimp will have the opportunity to be placed on shelves in largesupermarkets at high prices and stable consumption.

However, Hoe said that small farmers cannot raise shrimpunder international standards because of the high cost. Meanwhile, mostVietnamese shrimp are now produced from small ponds.

"Large shrimp farming is becoming an urgent andlong-term necessity. Therefore, it is necessary to accelerate the model of shrimpfarming co-operation as well as strong solutions for the building of shrimpfarms according to international standards to get better results in the longterm," Hoe said.

As planned by MARD, the Vietnamese shrimp industry willstrive to achieve an export turnover of 10 billion USD by 2025, with an averagegrowth rate of about 15 percent per year and keep the leading position ofexport turnover in the country’s seafood industry.

In the first four months of this year, the shrimp sectorearned 1.02 billion USD, marking an increase of 13.8 percent over the sameperiod last year. However, in May 2018 the price of shrimp material decreaseddeeply causing psychological panic among farmers and may affect the export planin 2018.-VNS/VNA