As foreign seafood importers are shifting their orders from China to other nations, Vietnam might be their next destination after the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement (FTA) is signed, said Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Speaking at the Vietnam-EU Business Forum 2013 arranged by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Delegation of the EU to Vietnam in HCMC on Wednesday, Hoe said the FTA will create a great chance for the Vietnamese seafood industry to expand markets. For instance, he said, local companies can import seafood from a third nation for processing and export to the EU.
China is now the biggest seafood processing country but certain foreign orders have been shifted away from China, Hoe noted, adding Vietnam might be the next choice of EU importers through the FTA.
The FTA will help lessen non-tariff barriers like trade protectionist measures, plant and animal quarantine and future technical barriers through the agreement, VASEP expects.
Three years ago, the information that the EU might slap anti-dumping taxes on tra fish imported from Vietnam badly affected the nation’s seafood exports, Hoe told the meeting. However, with the agreement, the above barrier would be lifted, he said.
Hoe expects the FTA to help Vietnam attract more EU investors, especially in the seafood processing sector and related services which are the strengths of the EU.
A road map of tax cuts for seafood companies is needed in the FTA as the industry will not be entitled to preferential tariffs in line with the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) of the EU in near future.
Seafood exports brought home over US$6.1 billion in 2012, growing more than 16 times in the last two decades, with exports to the EU making up 18.5%.