Extracting the Marine Economic Potential

Core transportation routes of the Mekong River Delta pass through the province, such as the 1A, Quan Lo - Phung Hiep, Nam Song Hau and 60th Highway. These routes connect Soc Trang with the southern provinces. There are also local and international sea routes through the Hau River mouth and Can Tho harbour. Soc Trang is a coastal province with 72km of coastline and three main river mouths, namely Dinh An, Tran De and My Thanh, flowing into the East Sea. Soc Trang's marine region has fishing grounds with abundant types of seafood. Every year, the encroachment of seawater creates salty and brackish water areas, not to mention more than 50,000 ha of alluvial ground. The sea is fertile area for fishing and aquaculture, which is the reason Soc Trang has an advantage in fishing and brackish-water aquaculture. With these advantages, Soc Trang has an advantage compared to other provinces in the Mekong River Delta in terms of economic development potential, especially in international commerce and the marine and coastal economy.     

Being aware of its advantages, with the support from the Central Government, sponsors and institutes, the province has invested in irrigation systems and infrastructure, boosted production and application and transferred technology to farmers. Many ships are repaired and upgraded or built with modern equipment and high capacity to be able to fish for longer voyages at sea. The majority of these ships are funded through a development assistance fund. As a result, coastal fishing is reduced as ships go further out. The annual average output is 30,000-35,000 tonnes of seafood, fulfilling local and export demand.

 

The total fishing and aquacultural output in 2011 was 195,295 tonnes, up 6.16 times compared to the 1992 output. Soc Trang is among the eight provinces in the Mekong River Delta with the highest total seafood output (the other provinces are Kien Giang with 507,398 tonnes of seafood, Ca Mau with 403,450 tonnes, Dong Thap with 392,074 tonnes, An Giang with 377,109 tonnes, Ben Tre with 319,312 tonnes, Bac Lieu with 253,479 tonnes and Tien Giang with 214,374 tonnes). The logistics services are gradually upgraded to meet production demand. Among the services is an efficiently-run fishery service zone at Tran De Harbour. Non-existent previously, there are currently four fishing boats with an average capacity of 338.7 CV per boat.

 

According to Mr Ngo Minh Trang, Director of Soc Trang Department of Industry and Trade, the processing industry is a major contributor to the GDP of the province, in which seafood processing is a key sector. The main export commodities are frozen shrimp and seafood. The frozen shrimp represents a large portion of the total export turnover and creates a reputation for itself in the international market. The total frozen shrimp output for exportation was 33,286 tonnes in 2010, up 4,261 tonnes compared to 2005. In recent years, Soc Trang exports many other commodities such as: frozen fish, frozen fried fish, mushroom and purple onion. The export numbers of these commodities are increasing fast.

 

However this rate of development has not matched the potential of the province and is not sustainable. According to Mr Quach Van Nam, Director of Soc Trang's Department of Agricultural and Rural Development, in order to extract the full potential and advantages and ensure sustainability, the resolution of the 12th Soc Trang's Party Committee Assembly of the 2011-2015 tenure has recognized aquaculture as a key industry which should be developed in a sustainable way to protect the ecosystem.

 

Accordingly, by 2015, aquaculture area will reach 80,000 ha, of which shrimp raising area will be 49,000 ha (30,000 ha for raising shrimp industrially and semi-industrially); total aquaculture output will be 265,000 tonnes (of which shrimp output will be 85,000 tonnes). The People's Committee of the province has already ratified the general plan to develop the marine economy until 2020, with the goal of turning the marine and coastal region in Soc Trang into a vibrant economic zone - an industrial zone with modern infrastructure; facilitating fishing and aquacultural activities to contribute to socioeconomic development in Soc Trang and the Mekong River Delta in general.