Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), forecast that this year’s seafood exports will likely amount to US$6.5 billion, up about US$300 million from 2012, despite a number of key products facing export difficulties.
Although tra fish and shrimp as the two key seafood export products are facing difficulties given the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs set by the United States, the opportunities for increasing the country’s seafood export value are still abound, he noted. The chances of seafood exports lie in decreased lending rates, allowing local firms to gain access to low-interest loans, he explained.
Tran Van Linh, vice chairman of VASEP, meanwhile, noticed shrimp exports have also changed for the better.
The shrimp farming industry has basically contained the early mortality syndrome (EMS) which has caused huge damages to shrimp supply for export processing, said Linh, who is also director of Thuan Phuoc Company in the central province of Danang. Besides, he added, Japan as the second biggest shrimp importer of Vietnam has already removed 100% checks imposed on shrimp imports from Vietnam for Trifluralin.
Furthermore, the tra fish industry has welcomed good news that the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture already passed the draft agricultural law 2013 with many revised contents including removing the catfish inspection conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The just-removed program is said to have cost the U.S. dearly and caused difficulties for catfish imports from Asian countries.
Apart from a year-on-year decline in tra fish exports from January to June, shrimp and seafood exports all increased. Tra fish exports reached US$800 million in the first six months, shrinking 7.3% year-on-year, while shrimp exports posted more than US$1 billion in value, up 1.5% year-on-year.