The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) held a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on Nov 2 to discuss measures to boost seafood exports through 2015 and set vision for 2020.
Deputy Minister Luong Le Phuong said although the fisheries sector posted impressive growth in recent years, it should identify major staples to give priority as well as major fishing areas.
Tuna, lobster and clam should be recognized as key export products while such southern central provinces as Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Binh Dinh should be given more priority in aquaculture in the next five years, Phuong said.
Preferential policies to encourage closer ties between the government, businesses and farmers should be offered to help boost trade promotion and outlet expansion, the deputy minister added.
Other participants at the seminar, including officials from the MARD as well as domestic exporters also agreed that building up national seafood brands and reducing trade frauds in seafood processing and exporting are crucial in improving the competitiveness of Vietnamese seafood.
Vietnamese seafood companies should pay attention to food safety, environmental protection and social responsibility since importers will tighten protection measures through trade and technical barriers, the deputy minister warned.
The companies, therefore, need to review management, speed up modernization and quality control systems in order to raise competitiveness, he added.
Vietnam targets to produce around 3.2 million-3.5 million tons of raw seafood, for export processing of 1.5 million tons-1.7 million tons in 2015.
The country is expected to raise its seafood export revenues to between $6.5 billion and $6.7 billion by the year, with nearly 65% of the total coming from three major markets of EU, the U.S. and Japan. (Vietnam Agriculture, VietnamPlus)
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