Vietnamese shrimp exporters face test over sustainability premiums

Vietnamese shrimp exporters test the value of sustainability

Vietnam's shrimp industry is confronting a commercial question behind its sustainability drive: whether overseas buyers will pay enough to cover the growing cost of certification, environmental controls and farm upgrades. The issue dominated a dedicated Vietnam session held on September 2 alongside the 2026 Global Shrimp Forum in Utrecht, according to Thanh Nien. The discussion was organized by the Netherlands' Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries and the Dutch Fish Importers Association.

Shrimp accounts for about 46-50% of Vietnam's total seafood export value, said Tran Dinh Luan, head of the country's Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance Department. The Mekong Delta represents more than 70% of Vietnam's shrimp-farming area and about 85% of its shrimp export value. Luan said the sector must move beyond production volume and address farmer income, environmental protection, biodiversity and the differing standards imposed by importing markets.

European retail demand supports certification

Vietnam was an early adopter of Aquaculture Stewardship Council certification. More than 500 Vietnamese shrimp farms are now certified, mostly smallholders organized in groups, according to ASC commercial director Barbara Janker. They produce around 50,000-55,000 tonnes of ASC-certified raw shrimp annually. Fifteen Vietnamese feed mills are certified and another 5 are under assessment.

The number of ASC-labelled shrimp products in Europe has risen from about 7,000 in 2020 to more than 11,000. In Benelux and German-speaking markets, more than 80%, and potentially as much as 90%, of shrimp products on supermarket shelves carry the label, with Vietnam supplying a large share. Compliance remains uneven, however. ASC suspended 8 cases in Vietnam over antibiotic issues during the past two and a half years, while disease pressure was particularly severe in 2025.

Costs remain far above Ecuador

Vietnamese processors and farms may need several certifications at once, including ASC, GlobalGAP and BAP. De Heus executive Tran Ngoc Thien Kim questioned whether the systems could be consolidated because their paperwork can overlap or conflict. Janker said ASC had tested joint assessment reports with other certification organizations and intends to use digitalization to reduce duplicated administration and assessment costs.

The competitive gap extends beyond certification. ShrimpTech Vietnam project coordinator Rogier Becker said production costs in Vietnam are about 77% higher than in Ecuador, largely because dense stocking and poor water quality increase disease pressure and mortality. Technical training, pond-monitoring IoT sensors, lower-emission feed and renewable energy reduced emissions in a project to 3.67 kg CO₂e per kg of shrimp, more than 10 kg below the conventional level.

Farm structure limits adoption

The TomGoxy Zero model combines shrimp ponds, water-treatment areas and mangroves. Around 10% of pond water is replaced daily, treated through mangrove plots and reused. Becker said 95% of the carbon is stored in soil. A separate AquaGene trial found that Kona Bay Balance shrimp had substantially higher survival than existing Vietnamese lines; although growth was slightly slower, cost per kilogram was lower and profit higher.

Scaling these systems remains difficult. A 6-hectare demonstration design allocates 2 hectares each to mangroves, water treatment and shrimp ponds, while most Mekong Delta producers are smallholders farming a single plot. Vietnamese industry representatives questioned the required land, investment, optimal forest coverage and evidence on water quality before and after mangrove treatment. Those constraints leave the premium question unresolved: European retailers already value certification, but Vietnamese producers still need prices that reward the additional land, technology and compliance burden.