Shrimp prices plummet on stubbornly low global demand

In the Mekong Delta provinces of Tien Giang and Ca Mau, the prices of shrimp sized 100 to a kilogram have declined by a third from four weeks ago to VND70,000-80,000 (US$3-3.41).

Larger ones, sized 30 to a kilogram, are priced at VND108,000, down 20%.

Minh, a farmer in Ca Mau, said with prices dropping by 20-30%, he is not earning profits.

"I have been trying to cut expenses, but at these prices I might record a loss."

Trong in Tien Giang Province faces potential losses of hundreds of millions of dong (VND100 million = $4,260).

Other farmers are saying on online forums that they had been expecting prices to rise for weeks and are hit by the decline.

The fall has been caused by lower demand in major export markets while supply has been rising in Vietnam, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a recent report.

Rising inflation has caused a drop in consumption in the E.U. and the U.S., two main export markets, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said.

Exports to China fell by 40% year-on-year in the first quarter to $54 million, according to Vietnam Customs.