Rising demand for shrimp from China has helped boost exports in Vietnam’s shrimp industry, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

China imported over 100,000 tons of shrimp in May, a year-on-year increase of 77 per cent, figures from Customs of China show.

Vietnamese enterprises earned $78 million from exporting shrimp to the northern neighbor in May, a record for the year.

China topped the list of shrimp importers in the month, with 23 per cent, followed by the US with 21 per cent.

However, shrimp export prices remain low despite the volume increase as global demand is still low, according to VASEP. The average price was $5.77 per kilo in May, up slightly from $5.33 per kilo in April.