December 21, 2016

US is Vietnam's top seafood export market

The US is Vietnam's top seafood market, accounting for over 20% of the Southeast Asian country's total pangasius export values, latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) showed, according to a report posted by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep).

Earlier Vasep reported that the US also emerged as the largest importer of Vietnamese shrimp in the first nine months, accounting for 23% of total Vietnamese shrimp exports during that period.

MARD Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said that despite the challenges posed by the markets and climate change, Vietnam has still seen growth in pangasius exports.

Vietnamese pangasius is present in 140 market--four more markets than in 2015, Cuong said.

The cultivation area for the whole year is estimated at 5,000 hectares, generating a total output of over 1 million tonnes of pangasius and raking in US$1.6 billion in total export value, up 6.6% over the previous year, he noted.

To boost seafood exports, the ministry urges the sector to continue investment in raw materials and intensify technology improvement, supervision on product quality, as well as trade-promotion activities abroad.