Binh Thuan heightened the quality control of shrimp seed

Heightened quality control of shrimp seed

Binh Thuan has a 192-km coastline, with little rain all year round and few rivers which flow into the sea. The salinity of sea water is stable, the water quality is excellent, the temperature is high and stable. There are many coral reefs in the coastal area of Tuy Phong district north of the province, so the sea water is consistently clear and clean. These are important factors in creating potentials and advantages for the development of brackish water shrimp seed production.

According to Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province currently has 133 aquaculture establishments and 778 seed production facilities, including 80 large-scale businesses. The main products consist of whiteleg shrimp and black tiger shrimp seeds. In recent years, the scale and capacity of each shrimp seed production facility has increased significantly. Many facilities have spacious areas, careful investment in modern equipment as well as skilled technical staff, and consequently produce quality and reputable branded shrimp seed in the market. Most of the major shrimp seed production businesses are present in Binh Thuan, which further reinforced the province's advantages in shrimp seed production in the South Central region as well as in Vietnam.

The annual production and consumption of shrimp seed in Binh Thuan has grown steadily. Namely,  production and consumption reached 25 billion shrimp in 2021, accounting for approximately 18% of the production and consumption in the entire country. Binh Thuan shrimp seed is currently supplied to many shrimp farming areas across the country, with special focus on the Mekong Delta region - where there is a large area of industrial shrimp farming located in Soc Trang, Ben Tre, Bac Lieu among others. Binh Thuan shrimp seed is favored by shrimp farmers for the high quality, fast growth, and farming efficiency.

Mr. Nguyen Van Chien, Deputy Director of Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: Binh Thuan province has actively implemented solutions in improving the quality of shrimp seed to strengthen the brand name as well as meet the requirements of local farmers as well as those from outside the province.

Specialized agricultural agencies regularly coordinate with local governments to organize training courses, workshops and seminars to propagate and disseminate guidelines, policies and legal provisions related to aquatic seed production activities and ensure that local facilities will strictly comply with regulations.

Additionally, the agencies focus on effective management and control of inputs such as: broodstock, feed, aquatic veterinary drugs used in seed production, and water supply. Accordingly, shrimp seed production facilities in the province are required to clarify the origin of putting broodstock, feed and medicine before putting into production. The broodstock must be used in the prescribed time; Feeds and drugs used in seed production must be on the list of permitted use as prescribed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Furthermore, the water input treatment system must ensure the following conditions: a settling pond, water treatment, storage pond or an advanced water treatment system must be installed including ozone sterilization, ultraviolet light, etc.

In addition, specialized agencies regularly strengthen the inspection of production and farming conditions of aquatic breeds in the province; thereby, guiding and reminding unsuitable establishments to correct errors so that the they can improve and ensure production conditions.

Every year, Binh Thuan's agricultural sector advises the Provincial People's Committee to issue and implement the plan to prevent and control aquatic animal diseases. As a result, the quality control and quarantine of shrimp seed before being transported out of the facility is strictly implemented according to regulations. All exported shrimp seed batches are sampled for disease in accordance with regulations and quarantine certificates are only issued for quality and uninfected ones. Moreover, Binh Thuan regularly deploys the collection of samples, analysis and assessment of environmental indicators in the shrimp seed production area in the province; Subsequently, provide timely recommendations to production facilities when environmental indicators exceed the permitted limits according to regulations.

The province participated in signing and implementing the regulation on providing information on production and consumption of shrimp seed between Binh Thuan and the shrimp seed consuming provinces in the Southwest region. Consequently, specialized agencies regularly provide a list shrimp seed production facilities in Binh Thuan province that have been inspected and granted certificates of aquatic seed production eligibility to other provinces; additionally, coordinate to gather information and promptly handle establishments violating regulations on quality of shrimp seed.

With support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Binh Thuan province has completed the preliminary investment in Chi Cong concentrated aquatic seed production area with a scale of 90 hectares in Chi Cong commune, Tuy Phong district; thereby attracting businesses to invest in high-tech shrimp seed production facilities.

Reinforcing the role of the national shrimp seed production center

Binh Thuan shrimp seeds are identified as an advantageous product to serve the strategic goal of developing Vietnam's shrimp industry by 2025 according to Decision No. 79/QD-TTg dated January 18, 2018 by the Prime Minister.

The Deputy Director of Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development reported that in the immediate time, the province will continue to promote the development of brackish water shrimp seed production, ensuring the quality and reputation of the brand, reinforcing its position as the production and supply center of shrimp seed in Vietnam.

With this goal in mind, the province will focus on applying modern and high technologies in shrimp seed production, such as: seawater treatment to put into production, quality control of shrimp seed using the PCR method, fresh algae culturing to be used as feed for shrimp seed and so on.

Additionally, the province will continue to attract investment from businesses with technological and financial potential and experience in shrimp seed production, promote the efficiency of high-tech shrimp seed production in the concentrated Chi Cong aquatic seed production area (phase 1). On the other hand, Binh Thuan proposed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to support the investment in phase 2 of Chi Cong concentrated aquatic seed production area to form a large-scale concentrated aquatic seed production area of 150 hectares with synchronous infrastructure; attract high-tech projects to invest in the production of shrimp and aquatic seed of high economic value.

The agricultural sector will also strengthen the management of shrimp seed quality; improve the efficiency of state management in aquatic seed production activities such as inspecting production and farming conditions, quarantining shrimp seed, managing the use of feed and aquatic veterinary drugs used in seed production, etc.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Chien, there are currently 3 businesses in the province that have been granted certificates of international quality standards in shrimp seed production. Namely: CP Vietnam Livestock Joint Stock Company - Branch 1 Binh Thuan province obtained the BAP certification; Southern Central Seafood Co., Ltd. obtained the ISO 9001-2015 certification and Thong Thuan Co., Ltd. obtained the GlobalGAP certification. The remaining shrimp seed production facilities in the province are currently applying the basic standards.