EU Continues Importing Vietnam's Seafood
Vietnam’s seafood products will continue to be imported by the European Union (EU) market, inspectors from the European Commission of Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General (Sanco) affirmed.
The affirmation was made after a Sanco team conducted inspections on the safety and sanitation of Vietnam's seafood products exported to the EU, said the National Fisheries Quality Assurance and Veterinary Directorate (Nafiqaved).
The Nafiqaved added that this is the EU’s second inspection tour to Vietnam since 2003.
The group’s preliminary report said Vietnam has made progress in monitoring antibiotic residue in seafood products, thanks to strict implementation of plans in this area.
Although warnings were still issued on a number of shipments, Vietnam has taken prompt measures to deal with the situation, the report said.
According to the Ministry of Fisheries, 209 seafood businesses are recognized by the EU as qualified to export to the market.
The EU already outpaced the United States to become the second biggest importer of Vietnamese seafood last year, behind only Japan, largely due to the market’s stronger demand for local catfish products.
The EU market last year accounted for USUS$715 million, or 21.6 per cent of Vietnam’s total seafood export of USUS$3.33 billion.
Vietnam, the seventh largest seafood exporter in the world with USUS$3.33 billion revenue from seafood exports last year, surpassed the yearly plan of USUS$2.8 billion. (Vietnam & World Economy, Youth)
Vietnamese
