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US releases shrimp probe results
The US Department of Commerce has announced preliminary results from the fourth administrative review on Vietnamese warmwater shrimp imported to the US from February 1, 2008 through January 31, 2010, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.
According to the results, 29 Vietnamese shrimp exporters enjoyed duty at 2.89 per cent, said the association, adding that the Minh Phu Corporation paid the highest duty at 3.27 per cent while the Nha Trang Seafoods Company had the lowest duty at 2.5 per cent. The average duty for other Vietnamese shrimp exporters was 25.76 per cent.
The US Department of Commerce also announced last month its fifth administrative review of the anti-dumping duty imposed on frozen warmwater shrimp imported from India, Brazil, China, Thailand and Viet Nam.
This was likely to be the final review of the duty, carried out in parallel with the five-year review announced in January. This review will examine details of US marine product imports from 2004-05.
According to VASEP, Viet Nam earned US$1.67 billion from shrimp exports last year, 3 per cent higher than 2008, but the export value of Vietnamese shrimp to the US reduced by 15.4 per cent to $395 million. The association also said shrimp processing for export was lacking raw materials.
Ly Van Thuan, General Secretary of the Ca Mau Province Seafood Exporters and Processors Association, said most of the 31 shrimp processors in the southern province of Ca Mau now operate at only 40 per cent of capacity.
The shortage of shrimp meant Ca Mau, the country's top exporter of the crustacean, was unable to achieve its export target this year.
In Bac Lieu Province, the area used for shrimp farming fell by almost a third last year, according to the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. It warned the shortages of shrimp would persist through the first quarter.
Thuan said many shrimp farmers suffered severe losses in 2008, leading to a decline in farming last year.
To resolve the problem, Tran Thien Hai, VASEP Chairman, said the provinces should reschedule their farming plans to avoid the constant swing between overabundance and severe shortages of shrimp.
Besides, processors should work in tandem with authorities and shrimp breeders to guarantee the latter's entire output has an outlet and expand the area in which shrimp are bred on an industrial scale to raise output, he said.
vietnamnews
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