October 18, 2010

Vietnamese aquaculture industry to receive US$2.9 billion investment

The Vietnamese aquaculture industry will receive an investment of VND57.4 trillion (US$2.9 billion), as part of the government's aim of implementing an improvement plan for the aquaculture sector that will last until 2020.

A strategy implementation meeting was held by Vietnam's General Fisheries Office in Hanoi. The meeting resulted in an investment of VND 57.4 trillion (USD 2.9 billion) to support specific projects like raising anabas, aquaculture management, building fishing villages, and creating a fishing co-operative union.
 

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Van Tam, said that the strategy was a crucial step for making seafood an export industry with a prestigious brand name and high competitiveness in the world market.

He also said that fisheries were expected to experience an annual growth rate of around 9% by 2020, when the sector will export 6.5 million tonnes of seafood to earn US$8-9 billion. They also plan to create jobs for over five million people, with wages for employees in the fishing industry also set to triple by 2020.

Chu Tien Vinh, the Deputy Head of the General Fisheries Office, said that to achieve these goals, the seafood sector will have to focus on restructuring its production.

The sector will also promote trade within markets in the EU, Japan, and the US, while simultaneously penetrating new markets such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China, and South Korea.