Major New Vietnamese Shrimp Factory Set to Go into Operation in Two Years

Minh Phu Seafood has begun construction of a plant capable of processing 20,000 tons of shrimp a year in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai himself broke ground for the facility August 18. The $22.4 million complex will open during the first quarter of 2011.

The Minh Phu factory, situated on 56.4 hectares and described as one of the three biggest facilities of its kind in the world, is expected to employ 10,000 local workers and generate annual turnover of $180 million. Hai said the government attached importance to the construction of large-scale and labor-intensive processing plants in the Mekong Delta.

“Developing processing facilities that use local farm and aqua material is the major orientation in the region’s economic development,” Hai commented. “Such development style is necessary in boosting the country’s major export product line.”

This is the Minh Phu Seafood’s fourth plant. Between January and July 2009, the company exported 7,300 tons of shrimp, a year-on-year growth rate of 20%. Turnover was $75 million, or two percent higher than receipts during the corresponding period in 2008.

Meanwhile, Cam Ranh Seafoods’ $7 million-shrimp processing plant has finally gone into operation after two years of construction in Quang Ninh Province. About 1,200 people will be hired to produce 50 tons of raw product daily. The new facility is one of the largest in the north of the country.

During the first six months of 2009, Vietnamese exporters sold $589 million worth of frozen shrimp, a 4.7% drop compared to the same period last year. The downturn has been attributed to the economic recession affecting major import markets.