Attending the opening ceremony were leaders from Can Tho City People's Committee, Directorate of Fisheries, Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Development, Vietnam Fisheries Association, Vietnam Fisheries Magazine, Institute of Economics and Fisheries Planning, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sub-Department of Fisheries of Mekong Delta Provinces / Cities, Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep), companies which supply equipment, food, manufacturing, processing and exporting in the fisheries sector, farmers and press reporters came to report on the ceremony.
Mr. Nguyen Viet Thang, Chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Association and Head of the Fair Organizing Committee, said at the opening ceremony that the VietShrimp 2021 was organized to bring together leading Vietnamese and international enterprises involved in the manufacturing, processing, and exporting of shrimp products. n addition, the VietShrimp 2021 attracts suppliers and industries that support shrimp farming, manufacturing, and processing, such as equipment, supplies, materials for shrimp ponds, machinery, food, and probiotics. The involvement of technology companies for digital transformation in the field of aquaculture in general, and brackish shrimp farming in particular, is especially remarkable at this fair. T echnology and solutions are brought to this event fair to assist farmers in gaining access to advanced technologies around the world, thus improving efficiency, lowering prices, and assisting farmers in strictly controlling of the disease environment contributes to success in shrimp farming. This is also an opportunity for businesses, retailers, producers, and processors, as well as scientists, specialists, and farmers, will be able to meet, share experiences, and explore and extend trade partners.
In the framework of this Fair, there will also be seminars with participation and sharing of useful information related to the strategic direction of shrimp industry growth in the future, the global consumption pattern of shrimp, the status of development of the shrimp industry of countries around the world, the trends of applying science and technology, and digital transformation, etc in the shrimp farming sector of many managers, scientists, experts leading enterprises in the country and in the world.
In the context that the Covid-19 epidemic continues to take place in countries around the world and in the region, the Organizing Committee has strictly enforced measures to prevent Covid-19 epidemics and to ensure that businesses and customers attending the Fair to carry out antiseptic before visiting.
Mr. Nguyen Van He, Vice Chairman of the Can Tho City People's Committee, said during the ceremony that the Mekong Delta in general, and Can Tho city in particular, have a lot of potentials and advantages for developing aquaculture, especially brackish water shrimp farming. High-tech aquaculture has grown in popularity in recent years across the country, particularly in the provinces and cities of the Mekong Delta region, including Can Tho. The city of Can Tho considers aquaculture production to be a pillar in the local socio-economic development. The locality has paid close attention to and encouraged development investment in the past, with the aim of achieving an effective and long-term development of the commodity industry.
Recently, the Government has issued Resolution 120 / NQ-CP on Sustainable Development of the Mekong Delta to to adapt to climate change, which emphasizes the role of the fisheries sector in the Mekong Delta's strategic axis of economic sectors, bringing shrimp to become key objects in the fisheries sector's development. This is a very important premise to further promote the development of aquaculture in general and brackish water shrimp farming in particular in the Mekong Delta in the coming time.
Mr. Tran Dinh Luan, Director General of the Directorate of Fisheries, spoke at the ceremony and praised the Vietnam Fisheries Association, Vietnam Fisheries Magazine, and other related agencies for working quickly to coordinate the third Vietshrimp Aquaculture International Fair 2021 in Can Tho City. The Fair Organizing Committee brought together the leading enterprises of Vietnam, the region and the world in the shrimp industry. This is a great opportunity for managers, scientists, experts, companies, and farmers to work together to find solutions to help the shrimp industry develop.
The fisheries sector, in general, and the brackish water shrimp farming sector, in particular, play critical roles in the agricultural sector's overall growth. The Covid-19 outbreak has disrupted the global supply chain in 2020, and low consumption demand has led to a sharp drop in shrimp prices, which has a significant effect on export activities. Shrimp growers, on the other hand, overcame the difficulties with the support of ministries, branches, and localities, as well as the efforts of companies, and obtained very impressive results. Shrimp exports will reach 411,000 tons in 2020, with a value of about 3.73 billion dollars, up 6.72 percent in volume and 11.07 percent in value over 2019.
In the sense of world shrimp supply and demand being highly affected by Covid-19, the brackish water shrimp industry has made effective use of the advantages of bilateral and multilateral FTAs in major markets to maintain and expand market share. The EVFTA Agreement, in particular, provides numerous benefits for seafood exports in general and shrimp exports in particular.
The Prime Minister signed the "National Action Plan for the development of the Vietnamese Shrimp Industry until 2025" in early 2018. As a result, the goal is to grow Vietnam's shrimp industry into a big, sustainable production industry that can adapt to climate change while also protecting the environment, as well as to improve the quality, value, production efficiency, and competitiveness of Vietnamese shrimp products, bringing benefits to people, businesses and the country's economy.
According to the action plan, production development is closely related to market demand for goods, quality enhancement, and branding for Vietnamese shrimp products; investing in the development of the shrimp industry based on system and value chain thinking; and companies playing a leading and driving role in the entire value chain. In addition, to reorganize production in the direction of cooperation, by connecting local production establishments to form large-scale concentrated raw material production areas, and by establishing a focal point to connect with input suppliers and product consumption.
The brackish water shrimp industry as a whole sets a target for the brackish water shrimp farming region to reach 740,000 hectares in 2021, with an output of 930,000 tons and a $ 4 billion export turnover. The global shrimp industry is expected to expand at a rate of nearly 7% per year until 2045, when total global shrimp output will exceed 15 million tons. By 2045, Vietnam could be the world's leading shrimp producer and processor, with a 25 percent share of the global shrimp market and a raw shrimp production of nearly 4 million tons worth $ 20 billion.
With the theme "Sustainable Destination," VietShrimp 2021 hopes to bring all four houses together to work together and realize the Government's strategy, becoming a large "forum" for all four parties: Managers - Scientist - Businessman - Farmer; introducing new technology goods, advanced models, and connecting production and consumption in order to increase yield, value, and ensure benefits for Vietnamese shrimp.in the world market.
The Exhibition Fair will take place from April 14-16, 2021 at the Can Tho Trade and Investment Promotion Center - 08A Le Loi, Cai Khe Ward, Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho city.
Le Mai (theo tongcucthuysan.gov.vn)