Vietnam, one of the world’s top ten seafood exporters, has set the target to export US$4.24 billion seafood this year, a rise of nearly 12 per cent against 2007.
Last year, the country reaped US$3.75 billion from seafood exports, up almost 12 per cent over 2006.
Seafood is now Vietnam’s fourth-largest forex earner behind crude oil, textiles and footwear.
Vietnamese seafood industry has made major strides in improving product quality that allowed it to double shipments to demanding markets such as the EU, US and Japan.
In 2007, up to 245 Vietnamese companies were eligible to ship seafood to the EU market, 370 to the U.S., 321 to China, 139 to Canada, 342 to South Korea and 24 to Russia.
Vietnamese seafood is now available at 130 countries and territories worldwide.
Nguyen Tu Cuong, head of the National Fisheries Quality Veterinary Department (NAFIQAVED), said that the agency has tighten control over good hygiene and strengthened grassroots management over material quality since early 2007.
However, the emerging technical barriers set by foreign importers were still impeding the industry, he admitted.
Cuong said to fulfill set export target for 2008, regulators and businesses should boost cooperation to further improve product quality.
The industry also should intensify investment in bio-technology for large-scale aquaculture, reduce import tariffs to ease the raw material shortage facing seafood processors, and increase the production of value-added high-end products. (Vasep)
Vietnamese
