June 13, 2007

Vietnam targets US$1 billion of catfish exports this year

Vietnam is seen to export US$1 billion worth of tra and basa catfish in 2007, up from US$661 million dollars in 2006 and US$328 million dollars in 2005, local newspaper Saigon Liberation reported Tuesday.

Vietnam is expected to produce 1 million tonnes of tra and basa this year, up from 750,000 tonnes last year. In 2006, European Union accounted 46 percent of Vietnamese catfish, Russia, 11.2 percent; US, 9.8 percent; and Southeast Asia, 8.7 percent.

Vietnam's seafood earnings generated US$3.4 billion in 2006, up 23.1 percent against 2005. The country aims to achieve a 9 percent growth in seafood exports from 2006 to 2010 period.

Aside from catfish, Vietnam is also boosting export of shrimps, prawns and octopus to traditional markets such as China, the United States, the European Union, Japan and South Korea, and some new ones like the Middle East, East Europe, Africa and South America.