Export of aquatic products hits US$1.67 billion in first quarter

Aquatic export in the first quarter of 2018 was estimated at 441,500 tonnes, worth US$1.67 billion, up 8.73% in volume and 11.2% in value against the same period last year, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

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In March, 2018, aquatic export was estimated at 158,000 tonnes, worth US$600 million.

According to statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in first two months of 2018, the export volume of tra (pangasius) fish and basa fish were the highest with 110,900 tonnes, worth US$ 257.1 million, down 6.1% in volume, but still up 13.2% in value thanks to rising export prices.

The average price of tra and basa catfish in the first two months of 2018 was US$2,319 per tonne, up 23.6% against the same period last year.

In the first two months of 2018, shrimp exports reached 46,000 tonnes, worth US$ 429.1 million, up 20.6% in volume and up 14.5% in value over the same period last year. The average price of shrimp in the first two months of 2018 was US$ 9,334 per tonne, down 5.1% from the same period last year.

In the first week of March, 2018, an Australian delegation visited Vietnam to inspect and evaluate the process and quality of the shrimp production in Vietnam.

The experts highly appreciated the Vietnamese shrimp industry, which opens the prospect of Vietnamese shrimp exports to Australia in the near future.