HCMC – Vietnam’s seafood exports amounted to US$4.7 billion between January and May, surging by 44% year-on-year, showing signs of the seafood industry rebounding after a two-year interruption due to the Covid pandemic.
This was announced at a general conference held by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) on June 22.
Speaking at the conference, VASEP General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe said that the country’s importers increased their Vietnamese seafood consumption by 10%-90%, while the average export prices rose by 10%-15%.
The country saw seafood exports hit US$1 billion each month from March to May, Hoe said, adding that revenue from seafood exports is estimated at some US$6 billion in the first six months.
The tra fish export is expected to rally further in the rest of the year, fetching US$1.2 billion between January and May, rocketing by 90% year-on-year, the local media reported.
Truong Thi Tuyet Hoa, a representative from Vinh Hoan Corporation, said several importers in the United States suggested the firm produce some value-added products from tra fish materials to replace pollock fish, which is running out.
Meanwhile, a factory in Europe that the representatives of the firm had earlier visited had to shut down due to the shortage of pollock fish, Hoa said, adding that it is time to boost the tra fish industry and popularize Vietnamese tra fish among foreign customers.
Despite the rebounding seafood industry, Hoe also predicted that high inflation in the United States and Europe would challenge Vietnam’s seafood exports, while the zero-Covid policy imposed by China, which is among Vietnam’s major seafood buyers, would also slow down the latter’s export growth.
