October 28, 2016

Vietnam seafood exports seen to hit US$7B in 2016

Vietnamese seafood exports are expected to reach US$7 billion this year, an increase of 5% year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Producers and Exporters (Vasep).

"Seafood export revenues this year will surely reach $7 billion or may be a little more than that", said Truong Dinh Hoe, Vasep general secretary.

"In the early months of the year the seafood sector faced difficulties and challenges. Then a balance in supply and demand in the world market helped the prices of some seafood products recover", he explained.

The price recovery, he said, helped exports of certain seafood items like shrimp and tra fish to increase this year, although the growth was "not high".

Truong said Vietnam is set to earn an estimated US $5.7 billion from exports in the first 10 months and that shipments are expected to increase significantly in the remaining months because demand in the main import markets usually goes up during the yearend festive season.

"We have high expectations for seafood exports in the two remaining months of the year. This will be an encouragement for seafood exporters amid market difficulties as well as a slow recovery in key export markets. This will be a foundation for us to prepare better for 2017", he added.