April 3, 2008

Vietnam's Q1 seafood export revenues seen 11 percent up

Vietnam's seafood exports are projected to earn US$551 million in the first four months of 2008, posting an 11 percent increase from the same period a yearago.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Le Phuong, the industry is on track in reaching its target after generating US$300 million in export value in March alone. Volume of exports reached 517,000 tonnes.

Perennial export winner tra catfish earned US$250 million in the first quarter.

In the first three months of the year, 416 tonnes of seafood were grown nationwide, 26 percent more than the same period in 2007.

Phuong said that though seafood industry was off to a good start, strong competition from other countries remains a big challenge. Seafood exporters are hence encouraged to improve product quality, dwell on more research and use the latest technologies to upgrade their facilities.

He suggests that seafood producers should actively participate in international trade shows to launch to stimulate global demand that is geared towards the 4 million foreign tourists that visit the country each year.