3:26:34 PM | 7/8/2005
Vietnam''s seafood exports increased by 11.2 per cent to US$490 million in the first quarter of this year, reaching although the industry has encountered problems over anti-dumping tariffs in the US market, according to the Ministry of Fisheries on March 28.
In February alone, the country earned around US$170 million from seafood exports, mainly frozen shrimp, fish, cuttlefish and octopus, from around 80 countries worldwide, the ministry said.
During the January-February period, seafood sales to Japan and the European Union grew by around 50 per cent and 70 per cent, respectively, although these two markets have strict food sanitation and safety requirements. Around 153 Vietnamese seafood exporters were allowed to ship products to the EU.
The surge of these two markets has helped make up for a decline in exports to the American market following the shrimp anti-dumping lawsuit brought by US shrimpers against Vietnamese exporters. US shrimp importers and distributors have not wanted to import shrimp from countries involved in the ongoing anti-dumping lawsuit.
The past three months have been difficult for local processors and exporters, who have faced oil price increases, the devaluation of the US dollar, and a slight decline in fish prices in the world market. A number of fishing vessels stopped operation, as their owners could not afford the oil price increases. As a result, several processors have faced input material shortages.
China is another potential market for Vietnamese seafood, as demand for seafood, particularly high-quality products in the country, has been on a sharp increase. Rising demand has boosted the average cost of fresh seafood imports on the mainland market to nearly US$6,000 per ton. So far, seafood has been mainly sold to China through border trading or via Hong Kong.
In 2004, Vietnam's seafood exports only reached US$2.35 billion, failing to beat its initial forecast of US$2.6 billion because major export items like shrimp or catfish were subject to anti-dumping duties in the US market. The industry has set a target of US$2.5 billion for outbound seafood sales this year.
The country is striving to bring home US$2.6 billion from seafood exports this year. Currently, there are 332 businesses nationwide involved in processing and exporting aquatic products.
In related news, Vietnamese farmers also exploited around 407,000 tons of fisheries and raised 345,000 tons of aquaculture products in the first three months of this year, up 1.4 per cent on-year and 1.6 per cent on-year and equivalent to 23.25 per cent and 22.25 per cent of early plan, respectively. In February alone, the country yielded a total of 135,000 tons of fisheries products and 110,000 tons of aquaculture products.
The Ministry of Fisheries said that around VND136 billion has been poured into aquaculture technology research over the past five years. This will distributed to successfully conduct research into an artificial reproduction method for some kinds of fish, crabs, snails, and shrimps; an environmentally-friendly aqua-culture model; the control of epidemics; and improving rearing methods to ensure food hygiene.
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