Vietnam's Minh Rich slipped into the red for the first time, with its farming and seedling businesses falling short of expectations

In the first quarter of 2023, Minh Phu, Vietnam's largest shrimp producer, achieved operating revenue of VND2.123 billion ($90.5 million), down 50% year-on-year, gross profit of VND122.8 billion, down 75% year-on-year, and net profit loss of VND97 billion.

Mf reported its first quarterly financial loss since September 2017, with selling expenses down 57% but finance expenses up 68%.

Minh Phu Group attributed the loss to a decline in the shrimp farming business of its subsidiaries Minh Phu Loc An and Minh Phu Kien Giang, as well as a decline in the operating efficiency of shrimp fry producer Minh Phu Ninh Thuan in the first quarter.

The loss in the first quarter means that MF Group started this year in a bad situation. It comes after Minh Phu Group just released its 2023 performance targets, targeting production of 60,000 tons, operating revenue of about 18 trillion VND ($767 million), up 9% from 2022, and pre-tax profit of 1.25 trillion VND, up 32% from 2022.

In its long-term development strategy, Minh Phu has also set a core strategy of striving to make the price of raw shrimp in Vietnam equal to that in India by 2030, and striving to make the price of raw shrimp in Vietnam equal to that in Ecuador by 2035.