Seafood exports fetch 4.63 billion USD in seven months

A tra fish processing line at Hung Ca Company in Dong Thap province (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam’s seafood export value in the first seven months of 2018 was estimated at 4.63 billion USD, up 6.3 percent over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The US, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea were the largest importers of Vietnamese seafood in the first half of this year, accounting for 53.5 percent of the total value.

Seafood exports also saw strong growth in the Netherlands (56 percent), Germany (27.2 percent) and China’s Hong Kong (23.9 percent).

During the January-July period, Vietnam imported 984 million USD worth of seafood, a year-on-year increase of 27.8 percent.

According to the MARD’s Department of Produce Processing and Market Development, the upcoming imposition of a 10 percent tariff on all Chinese seafood exports by the US and China’s plan to levy a 25 percent tariff on US aquatic products will provide an opportunity for Vietnam to boost its exports to these two markets.

Vietnam had a total seafood output of more than 7.2 million tonnes in 2017, including roughly 3.4 million tonnes coming from catching, and over 3.8 million tonnes from aquaculture, according to the ministry.