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(VOVworld) – Aquatic exports have recently recovered and even prospered despite the fact that exports of agricultural produce still face many difficulties. The exports of several key items including shrimp and tra fish have improved, contributing to Vietnam’s total turnover.
2013 was predicted to be an extremely difficult year for Vietnam’s seafood exports because its two major items – shrimp and tra fish – have suffered great losses due to natural calamities, sea water infiltration, and the imposition of anti-dumping duties and technical barriers by importers. Despite these hardships, the sector has seen remarkable growth, with export earnings of 5.5 billion USD so far this year, up 7.3% from last year. Shrimp exports have earned 2.4 billion USD in revenue, a 30% rise. Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors, said:
“In the future, exports to the EU will continue to rise due to a decline of supplies from other countries. For the US market alone, Vietnamese exporters will continue to increase exports in the form of supply chains.”
The US remains Vietnam’s biggest importer, accounting for 21% of Vietnam’s total export turn-over. Shrimp shipments to this market fetched more than 1 billion USD in the past 10 months, up 15% from last year. In early September, the US Department of Commerce acknowledged that Vietnamese shrimp exported to this market is not dumped and set a rate of 0% for all 33 Vietnamese exporters. According to the VASEP, with these advantages, shrimp exports are expected to reach 2.8 billion USD, up 27%.
For tra fish, although Vietnam’s exports have declined with the global demand, they still earned 1.43 billion USD. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Van Tam said seafood exploitation and raising is one of five keys in the sector’s restructuring plan which aims to meet processing demand. Mr. Tam said:
“The General Departments of Fisheries and Irrigation have coordinated with localities to plan specialized aquaculture areas, in particular zones for raising shrimp and tra fish in the Mekong Delta. To realize the plan, we need investment solutions for irrigation.”
VASEP has submitted to the government plans to restructure the production and distribution of tra fish and create an agency to be in charge of exporting tra fish to the EU. Beginning next year the agency will be in charge of all phases - transportation, overseas depots, and auction sales on e-trading floors, distribution, and payments.