Vietnamese seafood processing companies are lacking materials for production, forcing some of them to import to meet orders, reported by Vietnam Plus.
Tran Ngoc Tuoi, director of Vinh Thuan Sai Gon Aquatic Products, said the firm now lacks 70-80% of materials compared to 30-40% in the same period of past years. His company had to invite its French partner to Vietnam to see the situation.
Some businesses had to import materials from Taiwan, Indonesia, or Thailand for processing, but as a majority of customers prefer seafood caught in Vietnamese waters, other exporters have had to refuse orders.
One of the main reasons for the shortage is the fishing season, but it is also alarming that near-shore seafood resources have been depleted, said Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors.
Another problem is the dominance of private traders in the market, which results in a paradox that local raw material is exported, while processors do not have sufficient volumes.
