With Vietnam’s main agro-forestry-fishery export markets after China such as the US and Europe being hit by the new coronavirus-caused acute respiratory disease (COVID-19), Vietnamese exporters are suffering.

Tuna-fishing boats in the central province of Khanh Hoa are busy with the ongoing season, as a vessel can earn nearly 100 million VND (4,300 USD) per trip, Dan Viet online newspaper reports.

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang plans to increase the area under industrial and semi-industrial shrimp farming models to 3,200ha and annual output to 28,000 tonnes this year, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) confirmed it has decided to postpone an on-site audit in Vietnam.

The Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification program continued to grow in 2019, with 2,681 BAP-certified processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills worldwide by the end of the year. That’s up almost 15 percent from the program’s 2018 count, according to the GAA’s annual report.

Relations between the EU and some ASEAN member states have been tense in recent years because of the seafood trade, stemming from the European Commission’s (EC) sanctions related to the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. As Chair of ASEAN 2020, Vietnam hopes to promote cooperation among ASEAN member states and address this issue to actively contribute towards better ASEAN-EU trade relations.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) From traditional farming area, now pangasius farmers have boldly invested, converted to production under the model of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP).

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The shrimp-rice model is highly evaluated for economic efficiency and is considered as a sustainable production model, adapting to climate change and saline intrusion. Therefore, Bac Lieu province is aiming to build and replicate this model to create clean agricultural products to export.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Currently, the area of brackish water aquaculture of Binh Thuan is nearly 900 ha. Of which, Tuy Phong district made up 320 ha, Bac Binh accounts for 38 ha, Ham Thuan Bac and Ham Thuan Nam account for 23 and 145 ha respectively.... The main farming species is whiteleg shrimp with over 850 ha, the rest are other types such as crab, seabass, pomfret, and snail. Average shrimp production in the first 9 months of 2019 reached 10 MT/ha.

The EU-Vietnam trade agreement, the “most modern and ambitious agreement ever concluded between the EU and a developing country”, got Parliament’s backing on Feb 12 2020

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to Ben Tre Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, so far this year, the total aquaculture area of the province is estimated at 45,850 hectares, reaching 98.6% of the year plan and up 1% compared to 2018.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to report of The General Statistics Office, Vietnam's seafood production in October 2019 was estimated at 733.8 thousand MT, up 5.4% over the same period in 2018; accumulation in 10 months was estimated at 6,698.7 thousand MT, up 5.4%; in which, aquaculture reached 3.5 million MT, capture fisheries touched 3.1 million MT.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In July and the first 7 months of 2019, the fisheries sector continued to be a bright spot in the agricultural sector with a stable growth. Generally, in the first 7 months of 2019, seafood production is estimated at 4,521,000 MT, up 5.6% over the same period in 2018.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to the report of the People's Committee of Quang Ngai Province, the fisheries output in the first 7 months of 2019 reached 155,677 MT, an increase of 7% over the same period in 2018, equal to 66.3% of the year plan; in which, capture output is estimated at 152,333 MT, aquaculture production reached 3,343 MT.

On March 08, 2019, the Government promulgates the Decree No. 26/2019/ND-CP on providing guidelines for implementation of the Law on Fisheries.