November 2, 2011

Vietnam to develop seafood processing until 2020

A VND24.5 trillion (US$1.118 billion) plan to develop seafood processing till 2020 has been approved by Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Under the plan, processed seafood output for export will reach two million tonnes with an average annual growth of 3% and an annual export value of US$10 billion by 2020.

The MARD emphasised that to fulfil the plan's targets, total investment in developing the seafood sector will be VND24.5 trillion (US$1.118 biilion) in the 2011-20 period and more than VND13.38 trillion (US$637.14 million) in the 2011-15 period.

The plan also puts forth some solutions to promote seafood exports. Priority will be given to developing major markets and trademarks for key export items such as tiger prawn, pangasius fish, and tuna.

For the local market, the MARD said the focus will be on developing and introducing traditional seafood products and implementing programmes on food hygiene and safety.