January 17, 2005

 

 

Vietnam Seafood Export Target Set At US$2.6 Billion

 

Vietnam expects to export US$2.6 billion worth of seafood this year, an increase of 8.7 per cent from 2004, an official from the Ministry of Fisheries said yesterday.

 

To reach the target, the industry will develop the ability to forecast demand and prices on export markets and collect information about those markets for Vietnamese exporters and farmers, Nguyen Thi Hong Minh, fisheries deputy minister said.

 

Besides maintaining current export markets, the industry will also pay attention to opening more export markets in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa and South America.

 

The industry will build and advertise national trademarks of its three main seafood products of shrimp, catfish and tuna , she said. It will provide technical and financial support for provincial trademark advertising programmes.

 

The sector will help enterprises and aqua-culture farmers attain high capacity, hygiene and safety standards.

 

According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam exported 2.8 million tons of seafood last year, earning $2.4 billion.

 

Shrimp still earned the largest export value, accounting for 52 per cent of the total, followed by catfish, which accounted for 12.5 per cent.

 

Cuttlefish and octopus held at 6.7 per cent of the total and dried sea-products made up 4.2 per cent.

 

Last year saw a change in leading buyers of Vietnamese seafood. Japan ranked first, accounting for 31.4 per cent of Viet Nam's seafood export value, the US, 24.1 per cent, and the EU, 9.9 per cent according to the ministry's report.

 

The export value to Japan reached $680 million from last January to November, an increase of 31.2 per cent from the same period of the last year.

 

The value to the EU jumped by 88 per cent to $215 million, to ASEAN countries by 28.3 per cent to $153 million, and to South Korea by 29.3 per cent to $126 million.

 

However, the value to the US earned only $522.5 million, a 27.7 per cent drop from the previous year. The numbers to mainland China and Hong Kong also plunged by 14.6 per cent to $117 million.

 

Aquatic products were shipped to 80 countries and territories, with the US being the largest market, followed by the European Union, mainland China, and Hong Kong.

 

Basa catfish and shrimp law suits affected the total export value last year, Minh said, but lower tariffs upon completion of the shrimp law suit could bring an advantage to Vietnam's fisheries sector this year.