February 16, 2012

With the rising concerns on seafood quality, Russia may consider imposing a ban on importing seafood products from Vietnam, state media reported, citing the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Physio-sanitary Surveillance (VPSS).

The warning comes after the VPSS found bacteria in various batches of Vietnamese seafood products, which also failed to meet Russia's safety requirements.

The VPSS is expected to send delegations to Vietnam in April or May to check local aquaculture farms and seafood processing plants.

A ban on imports of Vietnam's seafood products is likely to be imposed if the situation has not yet been improved, the VPSS said.

With more than 150 million consumers, Russia is a huge potential market for Vietnamese seafood, including pangasius fish.

A number of seafood importers have recently expressed their concerns over the quality of Vietnamese seafood. South Korea, the US and EU also planned to send delegations to Vietnam this year to check the quality of local seafood processors.

The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) announced it would launch an annual inspection of seasoned fish fillet processing factories this month while the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) planned to send a delegation to Vietnam in May.

In addition, the EU would send two delegations to inspect aquaculture, exploration and seafood processing chains in September.

Vietnam is the third largest exporter of dried fish to South Korea, reaching US$5.95 million in value in 2011. The country also exports large volume of shrimp and pangasius fish products to the US, EU and Russia.

Seafood is one of Vietnam's export staples. In 2012, the country is expected to earn US$6.5 billion from exporting seafood, up from US$6.23 billion in 2011.