With a coastline of more than 3,260 kilometers (2,026 miles) and numerous islands and bays, Vietnam has huge geographic potential for aquaculture, Its exclusive economic zone accounts for nearly 30 percent of the South China Sea. In particular, the waters in the country's west, with fewer storms, and the deep waters in the central region are ideal for large-scale farming of marine fish species.
Key aquaculture sectors include pangasius, shrimp, tilapia, snake head and increasingly also bivalves and marine fishes such as cobia, seabass and grouper.
Currently ranked as the fourth-largest producer of seafood from aquaculture, behind China, Indonesia, and India, Vietnam produced 3.84 million metric tons (MT) of farmed seafood in 2017. That was more than 53 percent of Vietnam's total seafood production of 7.23 MT, which itself represented an increase of 5.2 percent year-on-year over Vietnam's total from 2016.
Aquaculture Vietnam will cover the whole aquaculture sector value chain, including feed, health and nutrition, genetics, equipment, processing and much more. Aquaculture is essential to meet the future demand for seafood products. The sector plays an important role in the economy of Vietnam. Seafood exports in 2016 grew by 7.4 percent in value to US$7.05 billion, accounting for 24 percent of the country's total agricultural, forestry and fisheries exports. aquaculture production accounts for about 65% of Vietnam's total fisheries exports in value.
In order to maintain the growth rates, the locals focus on improving the quality of seeds, reorganizing the production chain and locating the material zones close to the processing plants to provide raw materials sufficient for export activities. In addition, domestic enterprises are proactive in investment and foster the application of aquaculture science using technology for sustainable development.
Vietnam's aquaculture sectors development by partnering with governments, NGO's, industry and academia to promote best practice production systems that are environmentally friendly, consumer-oriented and economically viable.
Given aquaculture's strategic importance, the Vietnamese government aims to massively upgrade the country's shrimp industry with a view to boosting exports. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently said the shrimp industry should strive for an export value of US$10 billion to account for 10 percent of the country's GDP. He noted that "inadequate high tech for intensive farming has resulted in only modest productivity of 250 to 300 kilos of shrimp per hectare; if productivity is doubled, we can immediately reach our goal."