A strategic message for Vietnam’s shrimp industry

Those are the strategic imperatives for Vietnam if it hopes to prevail in an increasingly fierce global shrimp industry dominated by major players.

Shrimp remains one of Vietnam’s key export sectors, contributing significantly to the country’s seafood export revenues. But the industry is now facing mounting competitive pressure from Ecuador and India. In this context, Vietnam cannot compete through low costs or sheer scale. Instead, it must pivot toward a strategy centered on value creation, technology and system integration.

Competing with the global shrimp giants

Speaking at the 2026 National Fisheries Science, Technology and Fisheries Surveillance Conference, Dr. Nguyen Duy Hoa, Technical Deputy Director at Cargill, analyzed Vietnam’s competitive position against other rapidly expanding shrimp-producing nations. He also proposed a short-, medium- and long-term development roadmap aimed at transforming Vietnam from a raw-material supplier into a provider of high-value shrimp products through brand building.

According to Dr. Hoa, Ecuador and India have emerged in recent years as the two strongest competitors to Vietnam in the global shrimp sector. Ecuador has become the industry’s cost leader, while India remains the scale leader. Although India experienced a slowdown in previous years, its shrimp industry is now rebounding strongly. Vietnam, by contrast, operates on a smaller scale but relies heavily on intensive farming technologies.

That raises a critical strategic question: How will Vietnam compete over the next decade?

Dr. Hoa noted that Vietnam’s shrimp farms typically operate at very high stocking densities of 100-300 shrimp per square meter, generating yields of 15-25 tons per hectare. India’s semi-intensive model averages 20–60 shrimp per square meter, with yields of 6 - 10 tons per hectare. Ecuador, meanwhile, follows a low-density extensive farming model of just 5 - 15 shrimp per square meter, producing 4-8 tons per hectare.

Vietnam’s intensive model delivers the highest productivity, but also carries the highest risks because dense stocking increases vulnerability to disease outbreaks. India faces moderate risk levels, while Ecuador’s lower-density model results in the lowest production risk.

Production scale is another major difference. Vietnam’s farms remain fragmented, with ponds typically ranging from just 0.1- 1 hectare, making standardization difficult. India’s ponds average 1–5 hectares, while Ecuador operates at the largest scale, with pond sizes commonly ranging from 5-50 hectares.

Product quality also varies significantly. Vietnamese shrimp often suffer from inconsistent sizing and softer meat due to stress. Indian shrimp quality is also uneven. Ecuadorian shrimp, however, are widely regarded as superior thanks to synchronized production systems that produce firmer meat and more attractive coloration.

The countries also differ in genetics and breeding systems. Ecuador has developed a closed-loop breeding system, while Vietnam’s broodstock and seed production remain fragmented. India has more controlled breeding systems, but still relies heavily on external sources.

“In practical competitive terms, Vietnam cannot beat Ecuador on cost, nor can it surpass India on scale,” Dr. Hoa said. “Therefore, Vietnam should not pursue the ‘cost curve’ strategy, but instead compete through the ‘value curve.’”

Strategic direction for Vietnam’s shrimp industry

According to Dr. Hoa, one of the industry’s biggest challenges is the high cost of feed, which accounts for 50–60% of total production costs. He said the industry could increasingly rely on plant-based aquaculture feed ingredients such as soy protein concentrates, fermented soy and corn-based proteins including Empyreal 75 and MOTIV, all of which offer high nutritional value.

“Soy-based feed products can meet key industry requirements, including high nutritional quality and amino acid profiles that allow them to replace fishmeal while maintaining shrimp performance in terms of growth, survival rates and feed conversion ratios,” he said. “They also offer consistent quality and a stable supply.”

Beyond feed costs, Vietnam still faces broader structural obstacles in competing with India and Ecuador. The industry remains poorly synchronized, dominated by small-scale farming with high stocking densities that make disease control difficult. Linkages between breeding, feed, farming, processing and markets also remain weak.

Based on those assessments, Dr. Hoa outlined six strategic priorities for Vietnam’s shrimp industry.

The first focuses on genetics and breeding. Vietnam needs disease-free and disease-resistant shrimp strains capable of creating a sustainable competitive advantage. The guiding principle, he said, is that “survival rates matter more than productivity.”

The second strategy carries the message that “premium feed is not a cost, but a profit-generating tool.” The industry should optimize feed conversion ratios (FCR) to reduce production costs and improve profitability, increase the use of domestic raw materials to reduce import dependence and expand the use of functional feed products, especially during hatchery and early grow-out stages.

The third strategy centers on accelerating the adoption of farming technologies such as IoT and AI. This includes Biofloc technology with optimized stocking densities of 80–120 shrimp per square meter, as well as larger and deeper ponds designed to reduce environmental fluctuations and stress while improving survival rates and growth performance. Dr. Hoa also highlighted Eco-RAS sustainable recirculating aquaculture systems.

The fourth strategy emphasizes value-added processing and branding under the message: “Real profits lie in processing and branding.” Vietnam should invest more heavily in value-added shrimp products such as cooked shrimp, peeled shrimp and ready-to-eat products. Traceability systems must also be strengthened to meet export market standards. Ultimately, Vietnam should position itself around a “Vietnam premium shrimp” brand.

The fifth strategy focuses on markets. Dr. Hoa said each export market requires different product positioning. The US and EU demand premium-quality shrimp. Japan targets the ultra-premium segment with exceptionally high quality requirements. China, by contrast, remains a large-volume market focused on standard products such as headless shell-on shrimp at competitive prices. Meanwhile, the Middle East and broader Asian markets offer opportunities for frozen products with flexible pricing.

The sixth and final strategy is integration.

Dr. Hoa said Ecuador currently outperforms Vietnam across key areas including genetics, feed systems, farming models, processing and market development.

“In shrimp genetics and feed, Vietnam remains fragmented. Farming is small-scale, processing lacks consistency and exports are still largely OEM-based,” he said. “Ecuador, meanwhile, has centralized breeding systems, optimized internal feed supply, large integrated farms, processing closely linked to farming operations and strong market branding.”

“That shows Ecuador wins not because it is cheap, but because it has an integrated system.”

To compete successfully with Ecuador and India, Vietnam must therefore build a connected ecosystem that links farmers, standardizes production, improves output forecasting and increases value creation.

“In the short term, Vietnam should optimize costs and improve FCR. In the medium term, it should invest in genetics and technology adoption. In the long term, it must build brands and expand integrated production systems,” Dr. Hoa said.

“Vietnam should not compete on price or chase volume. It must focus on elevating value and building the Vietnam shrimp brand.”