HCM City (VNS/VNA) - The suspension of trade in aquaticand agriculture products at some northern border gates with China as a measureagainst the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused a demand-supply imbalancein the market.

The fisheries sector is facing a number of difficultiesbecause of the epidemic.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters andProducers (VASEP), aquatic product exports to China, where COVID-19 is raging,were down 45 percent in January to 51.5 million USD.

VASEP Secretary General Truong Dinh Hoe said exports weredown from the same period last year partly because January coincided with theLunar New Year holidays which interrupted exports for 10 days.

The outbreak in China has also had a serious impact onseveral other industries in Vietnam, including transport, tourism and retail.

Last year, China was the largest importer of Vietnamese trafish, buying 622.7 million USD worth, or 31 percent of the country’s totalexports. Many processors continue to see China as a strategic market this yearthanks to steady export growth and the good prices and diverse segments in thatcountry.

So any interruption in Vietnam-China trade such as thecurrent one hits the tra fish segment hard, he said.

Lobster exports to China too have been hit, causing prices todrop by nearly half in the local market.

Tran Thi Trang, a seafood restaurant owner in HCM City, saidlobster prices are now around 700,000 VND (30.2 USD) per kilogramme, down 400,000-500,000VND (17.3-21.5 USD).

Thanks to the sharp price drop, her restaurant sells morethan one tonne a week, including 300-400kg during weekends, she said.

Alaska lobster and king crab prices have dropped by 30-50percent.

The consumption of that seafood is increasing sharply butcannot pick up the slack caused by the slump in exports.

In this context, VASEP has advised member businesses to keep abreastof information from Chinese partners to dispatch their consignments as soon ascustoms clearance is permitted to minimise preservation and storage costs.

They have also been told to rework farming and processingplans to avoid excessive supply.

VASEP plans to propose that the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development and the Government should issue policies to support affectedbusinesses and farming households such as by reducing loan interest rates andextending payment deadlines.

COVID-19 has caused problems to the agricultural sector,which is thought to be the worst affected, especially dragon fruit, watermelonand rice exports.

But it is also an opportunity to change production andbusiness methods to adapt to new challenges and difficulties.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen XuanCuong said it was necessary to develop both short- and long-term scenarios.

“In order to take advantage of opportunities, it is necessaryto develop large-scale production and co-operation chains to find otherdirections for agricultural output.”

Deputy General Director of the Central Group Nguyen ThiPhuong said her company was buying agricultural products from farmers in theprovinces of Binh Thuan, Gia Lai, Khanh Hoa, Long An, and Tien Giang.

“This support programme is being carried out at all 37 Big Cand GO! Market supermarkets nation-wide until the situation is controlled. Weexpect to buy 80 tonnes of dragon fruit and watermelon per day.”

At Big C and GO! in the north, watermelon is sold at 6,200 VNDper kilogramme and dragon fruit at 15,500 VND. In the south, they are sold at 4,900VND and 10,900 VND. These prices are around a third of that on normal days.

The demand for agricultural products was very high in hersupermarket chain, Phuong said.

It had asked MARD for details of agricultural produce whichcannot be exported so that it could set up proper marketing programmes in thedomestic market, she added./.