Vietnam posted growth in both aquatic catch and aquaculture output in the first quarter of 2018, partly thanks to good weather, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Representatives from 28 coastal localities nationwide gathered at a conference in the south central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on April 5 to seek measures for sustainable exploitation, preservation, processing and consumption of aquatic products.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) At the end of the lunar year, at two fishing ports of Dong Tac (Tuy Hoa City) and Phu Lac (Dong Hoa District), boats arrived at full speed, the working atmosphere of fishermen was also more urgent to take advantage of fishing. In particular, over a week, dozens of tuna fishing vessels of Phu Yen fishermen landed with high yields every day.

The export of aquatic products in March was estimated at 608 million USD, bringing the total shipment in the first three months to 1.7 billion USD, up 11.5 percent annually, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang earned 643 million USD from exports in the first quarter of 2018, up 24.4 percent over the same time last year, the highest year-on-year rise the locality has enjoyed so far.

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang raked in nearly 137 million USD from exports during the first three months of this year, an 81 percent increase from the same period last year.

A workshop was held in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on April 2 to discuss the creation of hi-tech agricultural value chains between Vietnam and Australia.

The export of farm, forestry and fishery products in March reached 3.1 billion USD, bringing the total export value of the items in the first quarter of this year to 8.7 billion USD, a rise of 9.6 percent from the same quarter in 2017, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong highlighted Vietnam’s determination to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and build a sustainable aquaculture during his recent talks with European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella.

Vietnamese and US agricultural experts and policy makers gathered at a recent workshop in Arlington city of the US’s Virginia State to seek ways to boost export of Vietnamese agricultural products.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong has paid a four-day trip to the European Union and Belgium to promote agricultural cooperation with the two partners and demonstrate Vietnam’s efforts to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Vietnamese agro-forestry-fishery and handicraft products have been introduced at the 51st Cairo International Fair that opened on March 14 in Egypt’s capital city, drawing visitors and businesses, especially those from the Middle East and North Africa.

The central province of Binh Dinh is carrying out a project on hi-tech shrimp farming to raise export value.

Vietnam and the European Union (EU) are likely to sign the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) soon, Daniel Muller, ASEAN Regional Manager for the German Asia-Pacific Business Association, said in an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reporters in Germany.

Vietnam launched a stall at the 43rd International Food and Beverage Exhibition (Foodex 2018) that opened in the Japanese prefecture of Chiba on March 6.