Festival Tôm Cà Mau 2026 (Ca Mau Shrimp Festival)

   Cà Mau, the southernmost province of Vietnam, farms shrimp across more land than anywhere else in the country — and for the second time it is turning that into a three-day public celebration. The main square of the provincial capital becomes a trade fair, a technology showcase and an open-air kitchen at once: shrimp is caught, sorted, cooked in front of you and sold on the spot.

   The second edition runs under the theme "Tôm Cà Mau - Vươn tầm thế giới" ("Ca Mau Shrimp — Reaching the World"). It is organised by the Cà Mau Provincial People's Committee, with the industry conference co-chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Organisers expect 8,000 to 10,000 people at the opening night, plus 500-700 accredited delegates: ministry officials, international organisations, trade associations, exporters, buyers and sustainable-aquaculture certification bodies.

   The core of the programme is an exhibition village of roughly 350 booths. The essentials:

• — 150 booths from the shrimp industry — feed, farming equipment, processing technology;
• — 180 booths of OCOP products, Vietnam's "One Commune, One Product" scheme for regional farm and craft brands;
• — 20 food booths serving Cà Mau shrimp dishes alongside specialities from other provinces;
• — a display on eco-friendly and high-tech farming, with digital tools and VR demonstrations;
• — two business sessions — a national conference on the shrimp sector's development towards 2030, and a supply-and-demand matchmaking forum;
• — field trips to mangrove shrimp farms, high-tech production sites and hatcheries.

   If you have no professional stake in shrimp, the three days still give you plenty: shrimp catching and giant freshwater prawn (tôm càng xanh) fishing, sorting contests, a mass formation of the Cà Mau shrimp emblem, a "Tôm vui" ("Happy Shrimp") costume parade, a seafood-themed lantern design contest and live cooking demonstrations with local shrimp and crab.

   Families get a straightforward day out — food, spectacle and hands-on activities in one place. Farmers and cooperatives get direct access to buyers and certifiers. Investors and processors get a negotiating floor for deep processing, logistics, hatchery and supply-chain digitalisation projects. And if the far south of the Mekong Delta is new to you, this is a compact cross-section of how the region actually lives.

   Cà Mau leads Vietnam in shrimp farming area, and its distinctive strength is a set of models rarely found elsewhere: mangrove shrimp (tôm - rừng), rice-paddy shrimp (tôm - lúa) and organic shrimp carrying international sustainability certificates. Provincial vice-chairman Le Van Su (Lê Văn Sử) frames the festival's purpose as raising the value of the "Cà Mau Shrimp" brand and putting the produce of the country's southern tip in front of international markets.

   The first edition, held in December 2023 together with the Mekong Delta OCOP forum, drew 412 booths from 150 organisations and more than 20,000 visitors on opening night alone. The province now wants an annual fixture with a life after the closing ceremony: a working group will track the memoranda signed on site, and results are to be reviewed at six and twelve months.

   The venue itself is new. The square covers close to four hectares, cost more than 278 billion VND and opened in autumn 2025; its landmark is a 20-metre sculpture of a shrimp embracing the globe. Note that not everything happens there — several sessions and all production tours are hosted at other sites around the province, so check the daily schedule before you set out.

   If you want to watch an agricultural region build its own shop window and invite the world in, Cà Mau is giving you three days and one square.