Last week, Globally Cool’s Alfons had the opportunity to contribute to the Global Shrimp Forum in Utrecht, bringing some of the exciting technological developments taking place in Vietnam to the attention of international market players.

More than 40 representatives from Vietnam’s shrimp industry, associations and government joined over 30 European importers, buyers and other market players for our session, “The New Vietnam Shrimp Story: Resilience, Responsibility and Premium Potential.”

The session was hosted by CBI, together with the Dutch Fish Importers Association (VIV), as part of a Dutch government-supported programme aimed at strengthening the innovation, sustainability performance and international market position of Vietnam’s shrimp sector. And this is certainly a market worth paying attention to.

According to Grand View Research, the global shrimp market was valued at around USD 79 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 121 billion by 2033. These are impressive figures, but they also point to a market attracting increasingly strong competition.

Vietnam is already one of the key players in the global shrimp market, particularly when it comes to value-added shrimp. But its position cannot be taken for granted. Ecuador continues to expand rapidly, while India, Indonesia and other producing countries are strengthening their positions. For Vietnam, competing purely on volume or price will become increasingly difficult. The opportunity lies elsewhere: keep adding value. And increasingly, that value can come from sustainability.

There is a lot happening in Vietnam

Through Dutch government-supported Combi Track initiatives in Vietnam, promising technologies and new production approaches are being developed and tested throughout the shrimp value chain. These include innovations aimed at:

• reducing the carbon footprint of shrimp farming;
• improving genetics and disease resistance, drastically reducing the need for antibiotics;
• making production more resource-efficient and responsible;
• improving animal health and welfare; and
• developing innovative farming systems that combine productivity with better environmental performance.

At the Global Shrimp Forum, we also discussed Vietnam’s progress in areas such as ASC-certified production, zero-antibiotic farming and disease-resistant genetics.

Some of these solutions are now reaching a stage where they could be scaled much more widely across the industry. And that is where things become particularly interesting from a market perspective. Imagine Vietnam being able to position a significant part of its shrimp industry around a clear ambition towards antibiotic-free and carbon-neutral production at scale. That would be much more than an environmental achievement. It could become a completely new layer of value addition and differentiation for Vietnamese shrimp.

Better production is not enough

This was perhaps one of the most important messages emerging from the discussions in Utrecht. Technological innovation alone does not automatically create market value. European buyers need to understand what is changing. Sustainability claims need to be credible and measurable. Improvements in production also need to translate into benefits that matter to customers: quality, reliability, responsible sourcing, reduced risk, innovation and, ultimately, a stronger product proposition. In other words, the next challenge is not only technological. It is also commercial.

How can Vietnam turn these individual innovations into a convincing story for the international market? How can sustainability become part of the reason why a buyer chooses Vietnamese shrimp? And importantly: which sustainability improvements will the market actually recognise and reward?

That is why bringing producers and buyers together is so important. At Globally Cool, an important part of our work is to connect these two sides of the market: helping Vietnamese companies understand where European markets are heading, while giving European buyers a much closer view of the transformation taking place in Vietnam. The Global Shrimp Forum provided an excellent setting for exactly that dialogue. It was encouraging to see Vietnamese producers, industry organisations, government representatives and European market players exchanging perspectives, asking critical questions and exploring where future business opportunities could lie.

From sustainability performance to market positioning

Vietnam already has an important international position. But its future story should not simply be: we produce shrimp. It can become a much stronger proposition:

Resilient. Responsible. Innovative. High-quality. And increasingly premium.

Over the coming year, as part of the CBI | Transforming Trade Together programme, contracted through Globally Cool – International business made easy, we will work with Vietnamese industry actors, government organisations and strategic partners to explore how these developments can be translated into a strong branding and promotion strategy for Vietnamese shrimp. That means looking beyond individual technologies and asking how they can collectively strengthen Vietnam’s competitive position. Because sustainability should not become another label or claim added to the packaging. Done well, it can become part of the Vietnam shrimp value proposition.

At Globally Cool, we believe that the global food system needs to become less dependent on animal protein. At the same time, the animal protein that we do produce and consume needs to become dramatically more sustainable. Vietnam’s shrimp sector has an opportunity to show what that transition could look like in practice — and potentially turn it into a competitive advantage at the same time. So stay tuned.

Value addition for shrimp from Vietnam is about to get a much stronger sustainability meaning.