Vietnam '09 seafood exports to major markets fall

Vietnam earned US$4.207 billion from seafood exports in 2009, down 6.7% from previous year, caused by drops in the export value to its three biggest importers of EU, Japan and the US.

According to the General Statistics Office, seafood export to EU bloc, the biggest importer of Vietnamese seafood dropped 5.7% to US$1.1 billion last year. Meanwhile, export to Japan fell 8.4% to US$769 million and to the US, was down 3.9% to US$710 million.

Last year, Vietnam spent US$280 million on importing aquatic products for processing and seafood, down 8.5% against a year earlier.