September 29, 2009
Vietnam proposes lower material import tariff to boost seafood exports
Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has proposed the government to lower tariff on material imports for domestic seafood producers, according to a senior official.
VASEP deputy chairman Nguyen Huu Dung emphasised that tariff reduction in seafood material imports is necessary to boost the country's seafood exports.
Vietnam currently has 700 seafood processing factories while local sources can meet only 50 percent of total input material demand. As a result, Vietnam has to import materials to feed domestic processing factories.
This year, Vietnam is expected to earn US$4.2 billion to US$4.3 billion from seafood exports in 2009, a decrease of 5 percent to 7 percent over 2008. Seafood shipments, however, brought only US$3 billion between January and September, down 9.6 percent against the same period last year.
The association hopes that the exports will be improving in the rest of the year, since the exports to some traditional markets like the EU, Japan and the US tend to increase again.
