Aquatic product exports bring home US$2.4 billion in four months

Vietnam earned some US$2.4 billion from exporting aquatic products in the first four months of 2018, representing a year-on-year rise of 13%.

Shrimp exports provided the biggest contribution to the country's total aquatic product export value in 2017

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in April alone, the country raked in US$650 million from the export of aquatic products.

The US, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea were the biggest importers in January-March, making up 52% of the Southeast Asian country’s total aquatic product exports.

The highest growth was reported in the Netherlands (55.7%), China (44.6%) and the UK (33.8%).

In the four-month period, Vietnam imported US$536 million worth of aquatic products, up 27.4% against the same period last year. Of the figure, 130 million worth of aquatic products were imported in April.

Vietnam gained its highest ever aquatic product export value of US$8.32 billion in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 18%, according to the MARD.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said shrimp exports provided the biggest contribution to the total export value, with a growth rate of 21% to US$3.8 billion in 2017.

Aquatic product exports in 2018 are expected to exceed US$8.5 billion , up about 3% compared to 2017, though Vietnam's exports to the US and EU markets will continue to be affected by catfish inspection, anti-dumping and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), according to the VASEP.