(VOVworld) - ASEAN nations supply 80% of the global shrimp output but have to follow various standards set by the importing countries so that they can develop a common set of standards for shrimp aquaculture.

Processing shrimp for exports (Photo: VNA)

This point was agreed at a conference on Wednesday in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the Vietnam Fisheries Society and a project funded by the US Agency for International Development known as ASEAN-US Maximizing Agricultural Revenue through Knowledge, Enterprise Development and Trade (or the ASEAN-US MARKET).

According to VASEP Vice Chairman, Nguyen Huu Dung, the association is working with state managers in Vietnam and other ASEAN members to define a common set of standards for shrimp production, which will correspond with typical ASEAN features and general international requirements. The set of standards is expected to take effect before the ASEAN community is completed by 2015.