On the coast of Nghe An Province in north-central Vietnam, a shrimp farm using advanced technology is recovering from a direct hit by typhoons. At the end of 2025, two typhoons struck in succession; No. 10 in particular dealt devastating damage to the ponds and equipment, but the operator chose to rebuild rather than withdraw, finishing repairs by the end of January 2026 and getting operations back on track. This site, reported by a local paper on September 18, 2026, concretely shows how a production area exposed to climate risk makes the decision to keep advancing even so. For Japanese seafood players sourcing Vietnamese shrimp, it is material for knowing the real picture of those who carry the stability of supply.
What happened
The setting is the coastal zone of the Hai Chau district in Nghe An Province. The farm of Thai Ba Nghia, running an advanced farming model of over 5 hectares, suffered major damage in the consecutive typhoons at the end of 2025. According to the paper, after the disaster he invested about 2 billion dong (about 12 million yen) on pond repairs and equipment replacement alone, and the repairs took several months, completing at the end of January 2026. Furthermore, the funds poured into the whole farm over this one year reached about 7 billion dong (about 42 million yen). An advanced farming model of over 5 hectares is said to require investment on the order of at least several billion dong. Rather than the size of the damage, the decision to go ahead and reinvest anyway is the focus of the site.
What technology is used in the farming
The methods the farm adopts differ in design philosophy from traditional weather-dependent farming. It has a mechanism to send oxygen from the pond bottom, and incorporates a siphon structure that automatically draws off waste and sludge. Along with the repairs, the pond water depth was deepened by 40 centimeters from 1.2 meters to 1.6 meters, increasing the water volume to soften sudden changes in water temperature and quality. The aim is for the deep water to absorb, like a cushion, the temperature gap that rises to 42 degrees during the day and falls sharply at night.
Another pillar is feed and disease management. The feed mixes microbes, enzymes, and vitamins, plus plant-derived components such as garlic, ginger, and turmeric, to keep the shrimp healthy and make disease less likely to emerge. Water temperature and dissolved oxygen are monitored in real time so that action can be taken immediately if abnormalities appear. On the technical side, Do Huu Quynh, a graduate of the Vietnam National University of Agriculture, advises, and Bui Xuan Lanh runs the site.
Breakdown of investment and damage
| Item | Amount / figure | Approximate yen conversion |
|---|---|---|
| Post-typhoon repair and equipment replacement | About 2 billion dong | About 12 million yen |
| Investment in the whole farm over one year | About 7 billion dong | About 42 million yen |
| Investment required for a model of over 5 ha | At least several billion dong | On the order of tens of millions of yen |
| Pond water depth (before renovation to after) | 1.2m → 1.6m（+40cm） | — |
| Daytime maximum temperature | 42 degrees | — |
Note: Yen conversions are calculated at 1 dong = about 0.006 yen (10,000 dong = about 60 yen, based on the mid-September 2026 exchange rate). The overall scale of damage, including crop losses, is reported by the paper as on the order of billions of dong, but the exact figures of the breakdown are not given. Here we use the confirmable figures of repair cost and total investment.
How large is the farming in Nghe An Province
Across Nghe An Province as a whole, the 2025 farming area is reported at 1,776 hectares and production at 11,428 tonnes. Small compared with the huge production areas of the Mekong Delta, but its north-central location makes it one option in the search for supply areas outside the Mekong Delta. As advanced farms each refine their technology, the quality and stability of supply across this region as a whole is raised up.
How the site and the industry see it
At the site, there is a shared recognition that traditional farming methods are hitting a wall on both profitability and disease. That is precisely why advanced farming is taken as an unavoidable direction, and even after the blow of typhoon damage they moved toward reinvestment. From the position of the technical adviser, securing water depth and environmental monitoring are explained as the keys to withstanding climate swings.
Seen from the industry side, this decision is not one farm's gutsy willpower. Across Vietnam, moves to secure unit price and stability through certification and environmental control are spreading. Against structural challenges such as salt damage, high water temperature, and storms, the approach of raising resilience through capital investment is taking hold. The Nghe An case shows that this current has reached even the small and medium sites of the north-central region.
Clues for Japan's shrimp sourcing
There are three points Japanese seafood buyers should read from this site. First, farming that incorporates oxygen supply and environmental monitoring can hold down sudden production stoppages caused by disease or water-quality deterioration, which can contribute to supply stability. Second, a design that suppresses disease with plant-derived components such as garlic and turmeric plus microbes is close in direction to farming that does not over-rely on chemicals, and tends to connect to quality evaluation. Third, the resilience of recovering from typhoon damage in a short period is itself material for risk assessment when choosing a supply source.
With Vietnamese shrimp, the number of production areas stepping into business with Japan and the EU on the axis of certification is increasing. The 721-ha ASC black tiger shrimp effort in Dam Doi and The Ca Mau case where ASC certification was obtained on a cooperative basis show that advancing the sophistication of farming connects directly to sales channels. North-central sites such as Nghe An, if they ride this certification and standards current, will join the options for supply to Japan.
How to ride the reshuffling of export markets
Vietnam's shrimp exports show unevenness by market. While exports to the US stagnate under tariffs and regulation, other markets such as Australia are surging, and the ranking of major countries is shifting. The move where shipments to Australia rose 43.9% in July while South Korea lost momentum shows that a production area is stronger the less it depends on a specific market. A farm that has stabilized year-round supply through environmental control has room to switch destinations in line with such market swings. For Japanese buyers, there is growing significance in securing counterparties that have a mechanism to not stop supply, not just cheap prices.
Summary: choose a production area that does not stop supply
The advanced shrimp farm in Nghe An absorbed climate risk with capital investment and rebuilt within four months of the damage. If Japan's seafood sourcing is to act on this case, the first step is to ask existing Vietnamese shrimp suppliers in concrete terms about their environmental-control and disease-management design and their disaster recovery setup. Next, diversify supply sources across multiple production areas, including the north-central region, to build a sourcing network resilient to market and weather swings. And reassessing sites equipped with certification and technology not as a cheap production area but as a production area that does not stop supply leads to stable procurement.
Sources
Nong nghiep va Moi truong, "Nuoi tom cong nghe cao va rui ro chuc cho" (September 18, 2026)
