2:21:12 PM | 29/10/2008
Vietnam is unlikely to meet its target at US$4.2 billion from seafood exports in 2008 as the global financial crisis is hitting the country’s biggest seafood importers, local media reported, citing domestic exporters.
In the first nine months, the country exported 930,000 tons of seafood, raking in US$3.35 billion. The remaining of US$850 million is hardly to reach amid the on-going financial crisis.
Nguyen Van Kinh, general director of Cafatex Hau Giang Seafood JSC said Vietnam exported more than US$500 million worth of seafood to the U.S. yearly, but the financial crisis in this country has forced American consumers cut off expenditure, including in seafood.
The crisis made Vietnamese seafood export prices decrease, Kinh said, warning that the country will have to face decrease in seafood output late 2008 and 2009.
Meanwhile, Le Van Quang, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) cum general director of Minh Phu Seafood JSC, said U.S. seafood importers are now finding hard to borrow money from their banks, so that their solvency is very weak.
Seafood buying power on the world market also prevented EU, Japanese importers from seeking new deals from Vietnam, Quang noted.
Quang warned that the U.S., and EU importers may break already signed contracts with Vietnamese seafood exporters.
Meanwhile, Australia is tightening control over Vietnamese shrimp exports and Japan is striving to reduce export prices of Vietnamese shrimp from US$10.2 a kilogram to US$9.6 a kilogram. (Vietnam Economic Times, Saigon Liberation)
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