March 21, 2012

US to increase tuna imports from Asia

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that the US will boost imports of tuna from Asia, including Vietnam.

VASEP said the US will increase tuna imports but did not reveal the reasons, the newspaper said.

Earlier VASEP also said that Vietnam's tuna exports have also surged in African markets, such as Tunisia and Sudan.

The US is the Vietnamese importer of tuna. During the first 10 months in 2011, the American nation imported tuna worth US$144.7 million from Vietnam, accounting for 46% of the total Vietnamese tuna exports.

EU and Japan are also big importers of Vietnamese tuna, with import value of US$62.79 million and US$36.7 million during the same period. Tuna is one of important exporting seafood for Vietnam. In 2011, the country earned tuna export revenues of US$379.4 million, up 29.4% on year.