(vasep.com.vn) In the second quarter of 2012, Vietnam shrimp exports reached US$579.22 million, up 8.24 percent from that of the same period of 2011. Through June 2012, shrimp exports gained US$1.015 billion, up 4.5 percent over that of the same period last year. Along with persistent epidemic on shrimp starting since the first quarter of this year, in the second quarter, main bottlenecks of shrimp sector are barriers from consuming markets, reduction in global shrimp price led to loss in shrimp’s competitiveness, increase in raw material price and input costs. In June, shrimp exports tended to drop by 4 percent and may be continued unless barriers from importers are removed, especially Japanese market which inspected Ethoxyquin residue on shrimp consignments originated from Vietnam. Shrimp production and export situation in the second quarter of 2012 include 10 remarkable points as follows: