October 15, 2007

Vietnam may surpass US$3.6 billion target in seafood exports this year

A projected export increase in the fourth quarter could exceed Vietnam's target seafood exports of US$3.6 billion this year.

According to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), tra and basa catfish exports to EU, Southeast Asia and US would pull up the country's seafood exports, according to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Seafood exports to the European market alone are roughly worth US$230 million from the shipment of 65,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter.

Frozen fish is also expected to make waves as it accounts a large bulk of shipments to EU, says VASEP. Frozen shrimp and frozen cuttlefish would follow, according to the association.

The EU surpassed the US and Japan to become leading importer of Vietnamese seafood. Vietnam has exported 175,000 tonnes of seafood to the European market from January to August, worth nearly US$587 million, up 24.56 percent in volume and 29.2 percent in value, says VASEP.

EU is the world's leading seafood consumer as it imported seafood worth US$38.9 billion, posting a 10.7 percent increase from previous years. Vietnam's market share there remained modest at only 2.05 percent.

However, Vietnamese seafood exporters are seen to raise their market share as they have successfully reached 26 out of 27 EU member countries instead of just the three markets of Spain, France and Italy accessed last year.

Seafood prices in the world market are rising while the global demand for seafood during the holiday season, especially for the New Year festivities, is expected to be much higher than its current level, VASEP said.

With a monthly average growth rate of 12 percent, the country in the first nine months earned US$2.7 billion from seafood exports.