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Seafood exporters lack capital, demand
The number of seafood exporters dropped in the first quarter of this year due to lack of capital and falling exports, the Viet nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said.
In the first quarter, about 30 per cent of seafood enterprises suspended production due to lack of capital, high production costs and the pressure caused by complicated administrative procedures and policies, the association said.
Additionally, the General Department of Taxation's official report showed that the number of seafood exporters had reduced by 300 to 500 in the first quarter of this year, the association said.
The closure of so many firms was sure to affect yearly export targets, Nguyen Hoai Nam, VASEP's deputy general secretary, told Sai Gon Tiep Thi newspaper.
Nam said a number of firms that had halted exports had gone bankrupt.
Nam blamed the economic crisis, credit tightening policies and falling operational capital for the problems being faced by seafood producers.
However, Duong Ngoc Minh, VASEP's deputy chairman, said the reduction in the number of seafood exporters would help the fisheries industry become more sustainable.
Minh said the firms that had halted exports generally did not have processing factories of their own. He said they had closed their businesses because they lacked sufficient export orders.
Minh said the fisheries industry needed to reduce the number of enterprises that lacked financial capital, good management and insufficient investment.
According to VASEP, in the second quarter this year, 92.3 per cent of seafood firms needed a working capital of between VND10 billion (US$476,190) and VND500 billion ($23.81 million).
Meanwhile, the fisheries industry saw exports reach $1.5 billion in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 12.5 per cent, VASEP said.
The value of seafood exports increased mainly in Asia, while in the EU it dropped by 12.2 per cent to $299.4 million.
Other key export markets saw a year-on-year increase of between 15.6 per cent and 38.1 per cent to between $38 million and $296.9 million, including the US, Japan, South Korea, mainland China and Hong Kong, ASEAN and Australia.
Seafood experts said seafood exports in the second, third and fourth quarters were unlikely to improve due to the ongoing economic crisis and strict quality standards.
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