Vietnam’s PM calls for shrimp exports to reach $10 bn
VIETNAMESE Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the shrimp industry to strive for an export value of US$10 billion (Bt350 billion) by 2025 during a conference on shrimp production held in the southernmost province of Ca Mau on Monday.
Participants heard that Vietnam has become the world’s third largest shrimp exporter and the world’s leading exporter of giant tiger prawn. Shrimp exports accounted for 50 per cent of total seafood exports, with the highest value of nearly $4 billion achieved in 2014.
Giant tiger prawn and white-legged shrimp - brackish water species - are being farmed in 30 provinces and cities and are key export products. The south central provinces of Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa and southwestern provinces like Ca Mau and Bac Lieu are main shrimp producers. Ca Mau has the largest shrimp breeding areas. According to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, shrimp, with its high value, has been chosen as an important product for restructuring the seafood industry in particular, and agriculture in general.
Phuc said the shrimp industry should work to account for 10 per cent of the country’s GDP.
He asked the State Bank of Vietnam to instruct commercial banks to provide sufficient capital for the industry, especially for high-tech breeding.
