The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just lowered its forecast on Vietnam's seafood export turnover in 2011 to $6 billion, down $100 million from the previous forecast, due to raw material shortage and shrinking foreign demand, newswire NHDmoney reported. Although the demand for seafood products of EU, the US, Russia, China and Southeast Asia markets remained high, the demand for fisheries products of Japan, the country's biggest seafood buyer, saw a serious decline, according to the ministry's updated forecast on some agricultural product markets in August 2011. Vietnam's total seafood exploitation output in August 2011 was estimated to reach 254,000 tons, bringing the total figure in January-August to 1.73 million tons, up only nearly 1 percent from the same period last year, of which fish output reached 1.619 million tons. Meanwhile, the aquaculture production output in August was estimated to reach 282,000 tons, bringing the total figure in the first 8 … [Read more...] about Ministry cuts seafood exports forecast on uncertainties
Seafood exports
Seafood exporters eyes Middle Eastern market
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is not only a consumption market but also a gateway for Vietnamese aquatic products to penetrate the Middle Eastern and North African markets. This was said by Ambassador Tran Ngoc Thach at a conference on Vietnamese seafood jointly held by the Vietnamese Embassy in the UAE and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) in Abu Dhabi from November 21-23. The Ambassador also reviewed the fast growth in trade relations between Vietnam and the UAE in recent years, particularly in the seafood sector. For his part, UAE Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh said the conference will provide a good opportunity for both countries’ businesses to seek partners and boost cooperation. The conference was part of the 2011 Middle Eastern Food Exhibition (SIAL Middle East), attended by nine Vietnamese exporters. … [Read more...] about Seafood exporters eyes Middle Eastern market
Local seafood exports faced with difficulties
The short supply of raw material and costly quality tests remain the biggest obstacles facing local seafood exporters, a meeting heard on Tuesday . Speaking at a meeting held by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, VASEP’s deputy chairwoman, said the material shortage would remain a tough problem without a government effort to find an answer for it. She said many of the hundreds of seafood processing plants along the central coast have had to stay closed, since most of the raw materials have been bought up by Chinese traders. “Many local processors have had to import raw materials for moderate production over the last two years,” she said. Adding to the problem is the fact that processors have had to wait as long as a week for their cargos to arrive, while in other countries, the time was only a couple of days, she added. She said many global importers had chosen Vietnamese businesses as their seafood … [Read more...] about Local seafood exports faced with difficulties
Vietnam’s seafood exports depend heavier on material imports
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers VASEP, has asked for tax incentives to pave the way to import seafood materials for domestic processing. However, the proposal has not been applauded by farmers, who think that Vietnam has become more heavily relied on imports. In the first 10 months of the year, Vietnam’s seafood export turnover reached 5 billion dollars, an increase of 22 percent in comparison with the same period of the last year. It is highly possible that the export turnover would reach the record level of 6 billion dollars by the end of the year. However, the worrying thing is that in order to obtain higher exports, Vietnam needs to import much more materials. Material imports on the rise According the General Department of Customs, the seafood material imports in the first 10 months of the year was half as much again the imports in the same period of the last year--about 417 million dollars. Materials were imported from 70 countries and … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s seafood exports depend heavier on material imports
Seafood exports hit US$3.1 billion in 7 months
Shrimp exports surge sharply According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), exports to large foreign markets have increased in both volume and value; illustrated by the improvement of the value of exports to the US by 48.8 percent, China by 60.5 percent and Canada, 66.2 percent. Shrimp exports achieved the highest growth, with over 115,000 tonnes being exported, valued upto US$1.1 billion; an increase of 15 percent year-on-year in volume and 35 percent year-on-year in value. In particular, comparing with the record from the same period last year, the export of tiger prawn rose by 15 percent in volume and 30 percent in value, and whiteleg prawn by 37 percent and 72 percent, respectively. … [Read more...] about Seafood exports hit US$3.1 billion in 7 months