September 2, 2010

Vietnam eyes Russian seafood market

Vietnam has named Russia a potential market for exporting seafood, according to Duong Ngoc Minh, head of Managing Board for Export to Russia.

Businesses should diversify and strengthen processing products to obtain a target of earning US$100 million from tra and basa fish exports to Russia market in 2010, Duong said.

He said in September, Russia will send a delegation to make a fact-finding tour of Vietnam's seafood processing factories, providing chance for domestic businesses to meet Russian distributors. The managing board has sent a list of businesses wanting to export their products to Russia.

"However, they should set necessary conditions to prove they have safe cultivation areas which have applied Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). If they meet the requirements of the Russian delegation, they will find easy to expand their exports to the market," he said.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), Vietnam exported around 25,000 tonnes of tra and basa fish exports in the first eight months of 2010, up 11% over the previous year.