December 13, 2007

Vietnam's agri-exports may surpass target

Vietnam's seafood and agricultural exports may likely exceed the target of US$12 billion for the year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

As of November, exports have already reached US$11.5 billion in the last 11 months, posting an increase of 15 percent compared with the same period last year. Seafood already earned US$3.6 billion, up by 11.8 percent compared with the same period last year.

Vietnam's main seafood markets include the US, EU, Russia, Ukraine, China, Japan and South Korea.

Officials attributed export growth to the sharp increase in the price of agricultural products on the world market.

Other major agricultural products of Vietnam have earned a total export value of US$1 billion.

The agricultural ministry says the national fisheries sector has hauled 1.78 million tonnes of seafood in the last 11 months, an increase of 17 percent compared with the same period. Shrimp accounted for half of the total output.

Shrimp farmers made the highest profits, with VND120-500 million (US$7,500 to US$31,000) per hectare.

The highest output was 12 tonnes per hectare in several Mekong Delta provinces.