Minh Phú Invests in Production Expansion and Accelerates Automation in the Shrimp Industry

Amid growing customer demand, Minh Phú Seafood Corporation is focusing on expanding its processing capacity while accelerating automation across its production operations. In Cà Mau, the Minh Phú Khánh An plant is currently operating at around two-thirds of its designed capacity and is expected to reach full capacity by the end of September. The facility represents an investment of VND 1.5 trillion and has a designed capacity of approximately 35,000 tons of conventional products per year.

According to CEO Lê Văn Quang, even if all three of Minh Phú’s plants operate at full capacity, the company would still be unable to meet total market demand. If demand continues to rise, Minh Phú may consider investing in an additional processing plant.

Labor shortages are also accelerating the company’s modernization efforts. Minh Phú aims to automate around 70–80% of its production activities, with robots capable of performing a workload equivalent to approximately three workers while operating continuously across three shifts. At older facilities, equipment will be gradually replaced as it reaches the end of its service life, while the Khánh An plant has been equipped with a higher level of automation and robotics.

The surge in orders is mainly attributed to Minh Phú’s ability to supply large volumes across different shrimp sizes, along with strong growth in value-added shrimp products. The company is targeting approximately 30% growth in profit in 2026 compared with 2025.

The United States has now surpassed Japan to become Minh Phú’s largest market. Although Vietnamese shrimp products face an additional 12.5% tariff in the U.S., Lê Văn Quang said the difference is not large enough to significantly weaken the competitiveness of value-added products compared with those from India and Ecuador.

Minh Phú is also testing faster-growing shrimp varieties as part of efforts to reduce farming costs. The company expects advances in genetics to help lower production costs over the next one to two years, although these improvements are not yet sufficient to completely eliminate Vietnam’s cost disadvantage.