June 6, 2005

Vietnam benefits from current largest seafood importer, Japan

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), Vietnam's leading seafood importer in both export volume and value is Japan.

Compared with the beginning of 2004, Vietnam has recorded an increase of 8.5 percent in seafood exports to Japan at the beginning of 2005, exporting more than 31,500 tonnes of seafood with earnings of US$196 million.

Cuttle-fish ranks first on the list of Vietnamese seafood export items with an increase of 18.4 percent. Shrimp and fish follow with 6.4 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.

The Japanese market makes up between 25 percent and 30 percent of Vietnam's seafood exports, with the largest proportion of Vietnam's seafood export items coming from frozen shrimp products, reports say.