October 10, 2005

Vietnam might see fall in October seafood exports

Vietnam's seafood exports were expected to fall this October, according to the country's Trade Research Institute. The institute forecast earnings for the month at about US$240 million, down four percent year-on-year. 

The forecast was made in light of US anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese seafood and also stagnant EU and Japanese markets.

Vietnamese shrimp prices were also expected to fall in October as well, due to competition from Thai, Indonesian and Indian seafood exports during the current harvest period.

However, the institute expected domestic exporters to benefit from increased Chinese demand for fresh seafood.

The institute added that Vietnam was expected to produce only about 230,000 tonnes of seafood in October, down five percent year-on-year, mainly due to higher petrol prices and stagnant foreign markets.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's government said the country's seafood exports earned nearly US$1.9 billion for January to September 2005, up 14.5 percent year-on-year.