November 2, 2009

Vietnamese seafood exports are still struggling as import countries are not placing large orders as expected at the year-end, said Tran Van Hai, director of Hung Ca Company in Dong Thap province.

Thuan Phuoc Company in Da Nang City director Tran Van Linh said that the demand from the EU, US and Middle East has dropped dramatically. However, Linh said that his company can still export seafood to Japan, the market which still sees high growth rate, partially thanks to the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.

As the export market has narrowed and export prices decreased, the price of tra fish for processing is low at VND15,000 per kilogramme - meaning little or no profit. A kilo of tra fillet is selling at US$2.70 to Europe, the lowest price level in many years.

As for shrimp exports, Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) chairman Tran Thien Hai forecasts shrimp exports would bring some US$2.6 billion in total export revenue, a decrease of 20 percent from 2008. This means the total seafood export revenue would decrease by US$300 million this year from US$4.5 billion in 2008.

US$1 = VND17,985 (Nov 2)