Minh told the Daily that foreign-invested businesses such as Uni President, CP and Tom Boy have seized most of the local shrimp feed market and are cashing in accordingly.
In the low-season of shrimp farming, shrimp feed with protein ratio of 35%-40% is priced from VND28,000 to VND30,000 a kilo. In the high-season, the price is much higher, ranging from VND38,000 to VND42,000 per kilo.
“Meanwhile, input costs to produce shrimp feed is pretty low,” said Minh. He hinted at the fact that foreign-invested manufacturers enjoy lofty profits from the differential between input costs and the finished products’ price.
Also, foreign firms hold around 70% of the market of shrimp breeds while supply fails to meet demand, creating favorable conditions helping them control prices accordingly.
“Thus, shrimp farming’s cost in Vietnam is higher than that of neighboring nations,” noted Minh.
Local enterprises have lost ground to foreign competitors, resulting from their inability to set up long-term business strategies, financial incapacity and the tightened credit policy at home.
The saigontimes Daily