Value chains and the role of middlemen in white shrimp farming in Central Vietnam

ABSTRACT Vietnam is the world’s third largest exporter of shrimp products. Small-scale farmers are the main actors in producing shrimp but they depend on middlemen to market their products. This study aims to explore the role, network relationships and strategies of middlemen in shrimp farming in the central Vietnamese Thua Thien Hue province. This is based on semi-structured interviews with farmers, middlemen, wholesalers, input suppliers and local government representatives as well as complementary statistical data. The research findings illustrate the role of middlemen as buyers and as facilitators of information and capital. The network relationships between middlemen, farmers, wholesalers and input-suppliers are a stable arrangement based on trust and personal interaction. Within the framework of global value chains (GVC), they can be characterized as “captive” and “relational.” The main determinant enabling the structure of these interactions is the informality of transactions which are conditioned by the institutional framework conditions in Vietnam.