October 12, 2006

Vietnam's seafood exports to rise this year 

Vietnam is estimated to register seafood export revenues of US$3 billion this year, up from over US$2.7 billion dollars last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.

The country exported over US$2.3 billion worth of seafood in the first nine months of this year, posting a 19.2 percent increase in the same period last year. Its biggest market was Japan, followed by the United States, China and the European Union.

From January-September this year, the country exported 300,000 tonnes of frozen fishes, more than 100,000 tonnes of frozen prawns and shrimps and smaller volumes of other seafood items like cuttlefish and octopus.

The association also said Vietnam is working to further improve its seafood exports to its traditional markets and some new ones like the Middle East, east Europe, Africa and South America, increasing quality of the products, intensifying their trade promotion, and enhancing forecasting of seafood prices and export demand.

The Vietnamese government has planned to raise its aquaculture acreage to 1.1 million hectares with output of nearly 2.1 million tonnes in 2010 from expected 980,000 hectares with yield of roughly 1.5 million tonnes in 2006.