Seafood exports in July 2021 declined because of the outbreak of COVID-19

In the application of Directive 16 conditions in HCMC. In Ho Chi Minh City and 19 southern provinces, seafood production and export prices decreased most from the second half of July. After increasing 16% in the first half of the month, seafood exports in the second half of July 2021 decreased.

However, thanks to high growth in the first half of the year, accumulated seafood exports in the first 7 months of the year still increased by 11% to US$4.88 billion.

In the first half of 2021, the country’s seafood exports still achieved a growth rate of 15% over the same period last year, bringing a value of $ 4.1 billion thanks to seafood enterprises’ efforts and flexibility to stabilize production, maintain supply, take advantage of market opportunities.

The prospect of Vietnam’s seafood export in 2021 is very positive, but has slowed down when the 4th wave of Covid-19 broke out violently in the key seafood production, processing and export area, Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong River Delta region are at their peak period, which has severely affected production and exports, especially in the second half of July due to the Government’s strict requirements on socialization work. epidemic control such as the “3 on the spot” regulation to prevent and control the disease from spreading into factories, industrial parks or local decisions and measures to stop production.

However, the reality is that only about 30% of seafood enterprises in the provinces can guarantee the “3 on-the-spot” condition. For those who can do it, the number of workers that can be mobilized is only 30-50% of the number of employees, the rest have to quit or take unpaid leave. And the average production capacity has been reduced to only 40-50% compared to before. The general value project of all area is only 30-40%.

Meanwhile, the fishery materials mobilized for the export regime are only about 40-50% compared to those outside the working materials that are subject to the general distance. The basic materials that are expected to allow export in the last months of the year will be 20-30% short. In addition, businesses are burdened with costs arising from Covid such as equipping employees to work 3 on-site, paying extra wages, weekly inspection costs, as input and logistics costs increase strong ….

With the current difficult reality, seafood exports in the second half of the year will certainly decline, if there are no necessary support solutions for the recovery of production and exports and directly promoting livelihoods for workers and farmers fishermen in the context of living with the Covid-19 . In which, there is a need for early implementation, which is to prioritize vaccination for workers in seafood processing plants to ensure safety criteria, followed by support for businesses and workers affected by the pandemic Covid.

(source: http://vasep.com.vn/)