October 2, 2012

Vietnam's tra fish exports may hit 2012's target

After the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) predicted a strong final quarter, tra fish exports should hit their target for the year.

September is traditionally the month when tra fish importers in foreign countries increase orders to cater for the end of year demand caused by holidays, said Truong Dinh Hoe, the association's general secretary.

The demand for Vietnamese tra fish is predicted to increase 40-50% by the EU, 27-30% by the US and 30-40% by the ASEAN countries. Additionally, the association estimated tra fish exports for the third quarter of this year increased 12% to US$480 million.

So, Viet Nam expects to hit its yearly tra fish export target of US$1.8-2 billion - Hoe comfortably said. However, the export value in the first eight months of this year reduced lightly by 0.5% to US$1.15 billion against the same period last year.

The association said in the first eight months of this year, the US accounted for 22% of the country's total tra fish exports, representing an on-year increase of 35% to US$254.4 million.

Meanwhile, the export value of tra fish to the EU fell sharply by 20.1% to US$291.6 million compared with the same period last year due to reduced demand, though the export value of tra fish to the EU was the highest at 26.9% of the total.

The association and local seafood exporters were promoting future tra fish exports to the EU, Hoe said. Additionally, the association would cooperate with ministries and other sectors to organise seminars on advertising Vietnamese tra fish export products at large trade fairs in Europe.

"The adverts will include information about products and also processes from the development of tra fish to processing products and packaging of finished products for exports," he said.

According to the association, Brazil and Arab Saudi enjoyed huge export increases for the first eight months of this year at 226% and 177.5%, respectively, compared to the same period last year, though each market only accounted for 4% of worldwide tra fish exports, he said.