February 7, 2017

Vietnam aiming to export fish worth US$7.1B in 2017

The Vietnamese fisheries sector targets to export products worth US$ 7.1 billion this year, despite challenges facing it including draught, salt intrusion, trade barriers and strict requirements on quality from import markets. Last year's seafood exports were valued at US$7 billion, up 6.5% from 2015.

Agriculture and Rural Development Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam said that to attain this goal, the fisheries sector should fully tap the potentials for development of aquaculture and fishing.

He said production was still low and that therefore, the average production per hectare should be enhanced.

In 2016, Vietnam's seafood item structure remained unchanged, with shrimp still accounting for 44% of total seafood exports, tra fish 24%, marine fish 16% and tuna 7%. The country's blackish water shrimp farming area stood at 700,000 hectares, including 95,000 ha of industrial shrimp farming and over 600,000 ha for extensive farming.

The deputy minister also recommended that a development strategy be formulated for tra fish that should aim to supply markets with high-quality fish and products on which a tra fish brand name will be built.

Besides developing tra fish fillet, other value-added tra fish products should be produced, he said. Also, this sector should be more focused on the domestic market as it has many opportunities to expand in a country with a population of 90 million.

He moreover said that tra fish businesses should be proactive in selling tra fish products in supermarkets and online since Vietnamese tra fish is favored by consumers due to its quality and reasonable price.