May 4, 2006

 

Demand heats up for Vietnam's seafood

 

 

The Ministry of Fisheries reported increasing demand for seafood on the world market has caused a price increase for Vietnamese seafood exports.

 

The country gained US$845 million in total export revenue in the first four months of this year, 23 percent higher than the same period last year.

 

The price for tiger prawn shrimp exported to Japan was US$16.7/kg, 2 percent higher than in March, and the price of boiled tiger prawn shrimp, sold for US$12.2/kg in the US, increased 3 percent.

 

In April, catfish exports to Belgium gained US$3.3/kg, up 3.5 percent over the same period last year, and in Germany the price was up to US$3.68/kg, an increase of 30 percent.

 

Prices of unprocessed products stand at VND160,000/kg (US$10) for 20 units of shrimp, and VND13,000-15,000/kg for tra catfish.

 

The ministry expects prices to continue increasing next month.

 

To secure supplies, many processing companies have signed contracts with local producers, provided financial and technical support for suppliers and have tightened environmental and quality standards to cater to the

EU market.

 

At the same time, Vietnam has increased seafood imports for production into processed products for re-export.

 

Such imports are estimated to increase by 8-10 percent a year until 2010, with a total value of US$190 million a year.

 

In recent years, Vietnam has imported US$90-100 million a year from 40 countries. India provides 26 percent of the imports, China 18 percent and ASEAN countries 18 percent.

 

Furthermore, some Vietnamese companies also sourced from smugglers, thus making it difficult for authorities to control production quality.

 

Unsteady seafood imports have badly affected local production. The Fishery ministry has also called for suitable measures to control seafood imports.