Abstract
Continuous warnings on quality and food safety of shrimp products from importers have led to increases in port rejections. This has increased awareness amongst Vietnamese farmers for conducting shrimp farming according to specific certification guidelines. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the situation of quality control and effectiveness of Good Aquaculture Practices (GAP) in Vietnam (VietGAP) for intensive shrimp systems by making a comparison between VietGAP and non-GAP applied farms. The farmers in the GAP system performed well on seven control points related to quality management, especially regarding reservoir construction, water monitoring, and chemical use. Of the farms, 49% reported disease, and the ratio of safety rejections was low. The farmers in non-GAP farms appeared to have weak practices in quality control with high usage of antibiotics, leading to 64% of farmers reporting disease and 20% of tested shipments being rejected. The VietGAP applied system has the potential to deal with disease and quality problems to increase export opportunity for Vannamei shrimp. However, VietGAP does not generate a high price premium in itself because it is not a recognized certificate in the global markets. The results reinforce previous findings regarding eco-certification and how it can be a useful tool to reduce small-scale producers’ risk, even though it does not necessarily generate a price premium.
Highlights
Vietnam’s aquaculture is a large and world-renowned industry, producing 4.3 million metric tons (MT) with an export value of 9 billion USD
Farmers in the VietGAP system had a long experience of shrimp farming at 16 years, the intensive model developed in recent years when the artificial seed production of whiteleg shrimp was boosted in the central region of Vietnam, and was subsequently popularized in the Mekong Delta (MD)
This study shows that farmers following the VietGAP system could gain better control of diseases and quality than those of the non-Good Aquaculture Practices (GAP) applied system
Summary
Vietnam’s aquaculture is a large and world-renowned industry, producing 4.3 million metric tons (MT) with an export value of 9 billion USD. This is predominately due to aquaculture of the Pangasius catfish and shrimp farming. According to the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (MARD) [1,2], the Vietnamese shrimp farming industry has achieved remarkable growth in production and export value from 47,100 MT in 1995 to 762,000 MT in 2018. The industry stretches over 736,000 hectares (ha), and the product is consumed in over 90 countries. The Mekong Delta (MD) is the most important commercial shrimp farming area, where more than 93% of the shrimp culture occurs and from which 82% of total production comes [3].
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