Seafood exports to surf past $6 billion this year
Seafood exports to surf past $6 billion this year
The value of seafood exports this year are expected to inch up by about one per cent over last year to US$6.12 billion, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development estimates.
The figure would fall short of the target of $6.5 billion set for the year, the ministry said, citing global economic difficulties, rising input costs, and capital shortages.
Seafood exports to the EU in the last quarter dropped sharply, declining by 12 per cent from the same period a year ago, while shipments to the US and Japan also declined roughly 1.5-2 per cent, according to statistics from the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), reflecting a failure in the usual pattern of rising seasonal demand around the holidays.
The chairman of VASEP's shrimp committee, Ho Quoc Luc, said that shrimp exports this year faced major challenges since Japan increased testing for ethoxyquin levels in shrimp imported from Viet Nam. The US and South Korea have recently also stepped up testing of Vietnamese product, Luc said.
Many seafood producers have upgraded their aquacultural areas to meet the higher quality standards, he noted.
The general director of Caseamex Co in the southern province of Can Tho, Vo Dong Duc, said that his company's investment in aquaculture areas rose by about 20 per cent this year as the company took steps to comply with the higher standards of importing countries.
The ministry's General Department of Seafood has also said that it would enhance monitoring of seafood breeding and feeding practices next year to further enhance the quality of the country's seafood products.
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