January 2, 2009

Vietnam seafood sector records bumper harvest in 2008

Vietnam's seafood sector has reaped a bumper harvest in 2008 with export revenue and production output hitting record, said Agriculture and Rural Development deputy minister, Nguyen Viet Thang.

In 2008, Vietnam raked in US$4.562 billion from seafood exports, up 21.2 percent, or VND700 million (US$40,061) against 2007.

Of the total, shrimp exports were estimated to contribute more than US$1.7 billion while pangasius exports contributed nearly US$1.5 billion.

In 2008, Vietnam's total aquatic product output reached 4.58 million tonnes, the highest so far, including 2.45 million tonnes from aquaculture farms, up 2.9 percent and 15.3 percent year-on-year, respectively.