Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Province seafood processing businesses face a shortage of raw materials amid expanding export opportunities. – VNA/VNS Photo

BÀ RỊA-VŨNG TÀU – Seafood processing businesses in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province are grappling with a shortage of raw materials amid growing opportunities in export markets.

To cope, they are stockpiling supplies and importing raw materials to sustain production.

The shortage has disrupted operations at the Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Seafood Processing, Import and Export JSC.

Nguyễn Công Huyên, its deputy general director, said: “Even after sourcing materials from within the province and nationwide, we cannot meet the demand from customers.”

Domestic supply only meets 40–50 per cent of demand, he said.

“To tackle this shortage, we are importing raw materials from various Southeast Asian and European countries.”

The company is also investing in cold storage to stockpile raw materials and aiming to achieve its export target of US$60 million this year.

Thuận Huệ Production Service and Trading Corp has had to pare its export targets due to the raw material shortages and lay off workers for two months a year because of insufficient production.

To mitigate this challenge, it is focusing on freezing raw materials and expanding processing lines to diversify its product range, ensuring both revenue growth and job stability.

Its director, Đồng Thị Huệ, highlighted the ongoing challenges: “Our company must always stockpile raw materials, maintaining reserves of up to 500 tonnes to ensure regular work for employees.”

She said that to sustain employment and maintain export volumes, the company is diversifying into processed squid products.

“If we continue relying on our traditional product lines, we will struggle with increasingly scarce raw materials.”

Negative impacts of raw material shortages

Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province is home to 175 seafood processing and trading businesses that produce a range of processed seafood, including surimi, fish, squid, octopus, and crab.

The start of the year is usually a favourable period for local processors due to high international demand, but the raw material shortage is hampering their ability to fulfil orders.

According to the province Department of Industry and Trade, seafood exports in the first two months of 2025 totalled over US$31 million, a 4.61 per cent decline year-on-year.

The province has an annual seafood catch of 350,000 tonnes, which fall short of local processors’ demand.

Businesses are increasing imports, but this is a band-aid measure that fails to address the root causes of the problem. – VNS