The 5th VietShrimp Aquaculture Shrimp International Fair (VietShrimp 2024), held in Cà Mau from March 20th to 22nd, 2024, achieved success by attracting tens of thousands of turns of visitors and pinning faith in development. The noteworthy was the emphasis on sustainable growth as all stakeholders will work “in company with shrimp farmers” towards a circular economy to elevate Vietnam’s shrimp industry onto the globe.

During the opening ceremony, Chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Association, Nguyễn Việt Thắng, emphasized, “VietShrimp 2024 – in company with shrimp farmers, serves as a major forum for 4 key players: Manager – Scientists – Entrepreneurs – Farmers, to find optimal solutions to steer Vietnam’s shrimp industry back on track.” Alongside the exhibition of advanced technologies and products, four specialized seminars were held with the participation of numerous managers, scientists, experts, and businesses. These included: Research on applying technology transfer to promote the circular economy of Vietnam’s shrimp value chain; Dialogue on low-emission and sustainable shrimp industry within the circular economy framework; Enhancing quality to increase value; Achieving the highest efficiency in shrimp farming.

Several notable presentations were made, such as an overview of Vietnam’s shrimp chain from the circular economy perspective by the Ministry of Science and Technology; Technological solutions for Vietnamese shrimp products in line with the circular economy direction by WWF Vietnam; Methods to control bacterial diseases in shrimp without antibiotics by Nha Trang University; The application of biological technology in shrimp farming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by Minh Phú Corporation; Developing sustainable aquaculture ecosystems based on Tomota’s data; Zero-emission shrimp farming by Skretting; Effective nutritional solutions to enhance competitive capacity and sustainable development for the shrimp industry by De Heus; and the 3-good shrimp farming model by Uni President…

VietShrimp 2024 was further highlighted when, on the afternoon of March 21st, 2024, in Cà Mau, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lê Minh Hoan chaired the National Conference to mobilize resources for implementing natural-based solutions in the Mekong Delta. The minister emphasized, “Natural-based practice doesn’t mean doing nothing, but rather an adaptive process, harmonizing human activities with nature in a controlled manner, aligning with the laws of nature to bring benefits to humans and protect ecosystems.”

At the conference, Lê Văn Quang, CEO of Minh Phú Corporation, stated: The shrimp-rice model is a natural-based and unique agricultural cultivation form, well-suited to the Mekong Delta; farmers spend a modest amount of money on rice and shrimp seeds, but can earn 250-500 million VND/ha/year; however large-scale cooperation is necessary to achieve this. WWF Vietnam representatives agreed that the shrimp-rice model is an effective natural-based solution and introduced additional models such as rice-fish, rice-lotus, shrimp-forestry, which yield good results while preserving biodiversity and ecological environments.

Attending the conference by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and VietShrimp 2024, Deputy Chairman of Cà Mau Provincial People’s Committee, Lê Văn Sử, expressed: “Hosting VietShrimp 2024 in Cà Mau holds significant practical importance, not only promoting and introducing the potential, strengths, image, and brand of Vietnamese shrimp, but also providing an opportunity for sectors, institutes, and local people to learn, accumulate experience, and effectively organize shrimp production, processing, and export in the future, thus improving economic efficiency while protecting the environment.”

VietShrimp Team