September 7, 2010

 

Vietnamese seafood exports rise 13%

 

 

Vietnam's seafood exports totalled US$2.9 billion in the first eight months of this year, an increase of 13% compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

 

Shrimp and tra catfish saw the greatest growth in both volume and value, the ministry said, with shrimp exports rising by 15% in volume during the period to 110,300 tonnes and 20% in value to US$929 million.

 

Tra exports, meanwhile, totalled 361,000 tonnes, a surge of 11% in volume, while earning US$774 million, an increase of 6% in value.

 

The EU continued as the leading export market for Vietnamese seafood, followed by the US and Japan, MARD said. Seafood exporters shipped 204,600 tonnes to the EU in the first eight months, raking in US$621 million, an increase of 5% in volume and 7% in value.

 

The EU market accounted for 28% of the seafood industry's total export volume and 25% of the total value during the period, the ministry said.

 

The US alone, however, was the leading buyer of tra fish, while Japan was the leading export market for shrimp.

 

Both markets have played a leading role in the sustainable growth of the nation's seafood exports this year, but Russia and Mexico also represented markets of enormous potential.

 

Duong Ngoc Minh, head of the ministry's department overseeing catfish exports to Russia, said seafood exporters could have increased opportunities to export to Russia by the end of this year, following two years of success in meeting Russian food quality and safety standards.

 

While domestic exporters would face stricter Russian sanitary regulations to take effect on October 1, these represented a challenge to exporters to further improve their quality standards, Minh said. Tra exports of US$100 million to Russia this year were within reach, he added.

 

Seafood producers, meanwhile, were facing stricter domestic food hygiene regulations, issued in ministry Circular No 25/2010/TT-BNNPTNT.

 

But the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) was urging the ministry to ease the regulations in order to facilitate the industry in reaching its export targets.

 

Seafood exports were expected to reach US$4.5 billion this year, according to the ministry. VASEP was urging its members to join in international trade fairs to establish further direct contacts with importers.