January 31, 2007

South Korea approves 24 additional Vietnam seafood exporters

Twenty-four more Vietnam seafood producers have been ratified by the government of South Korea to export their products in the territory.

The approval was based upon the request of Vietnam's fishery agencies, the National Fisheries Quality and Veterinary Directorate (Nafiqaved) and the National Fisheries Products Quality Inspection Service (NFPQIS) to South Korea to allow more Vietnamese seafood companies to enter the market.

Vietnam now has 320 qualified seafood traders to export to South Korea with two enterprises removed from the list as they have stopped production.

According to the Ministry of Fisheries, the total seafood export turnover in January 2007 reached US$192million, posting an increase of 8.2% over the same period last year. The prices of key export items, including shrimp

 and cuttle fish remain stabilised at high levels.

In the world market, shrimp prices have been steady in several key consumer markets. The 16/20 sized shrimp sourced form Vietnam is selling at US$5.8 per pound in the US. 

On the other hand, local prices of shrimp have been decreasing slightly since December. Currently, the 20unit/kg shrimp is offered at VND155,000/kg (US$9.66) in Soc Trang province, down by VND10,000 (US$0.62) to VND15,000 (US$0.93) per kilo compared to mid December 2006. The 40 unit/kg shrimp is trading at VND98,000 (US$6.10) per kilo.

Meanwhile, tra and basa catfish prices have been increasing considerably since end of December 2006. The prices of catfish in An Giang Province are staying firm at VND15,500 (US$0.96) to VND16,000 (US$0.99) per kilo due to supply shortfall.

The Ministry of Fisheries explained that demand for tra and basa have surged during the holiday season, thus, harvests have been meagre.  On the other hand, most catfish farmers have shifted to other aquaculture venture for fear that prices would significantly reduce in January.

In January, the consignments of seafood exported to Japan were continuously found as having problems in food hygiene, which is severely affecting the Vietnam's integrity in sanitation. The ministry has ordered seafood manufacturers to comply with sanitation regulations during processing and to track down origins of the consignments or face severe penalties.