However, the news is not all good for many farmers who can't get loans and have been forced to temporarily stop production. The price of tra fish has also dropped and the price of feed risen in the same period.
According to Vu Van Tam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), export turnover in 1991 was $1.2 billion. In 2011 the figure had jumped to $6.1 billion.
Tam said in June this year, Viet Nam earned $550 million from seafood exports. This brought export turnover for the first six months to a remarkable $2.9 billion, an increase of 10.6 percent against the same period last year.
Nguyen Ngoc Oai, director general of the Department of Aqua Products Exploitation and Protection attributed the success to fishing units set up by fishermen.
"Since the new model was introduced last July, more than 2,400 fishing units have been established", said Oai.
However, the economic downturn in Europe has had a serious impact on Vietnamese aqua-product enterprises. The number of enterprises involved in export activities dropped 40 per cent in the first six months.
In addition, the export price of a kilo of tra fish has dropped to VND20,000 ($0.95) from VND22,000 ($1.05). Meanwhile the price of fish feed has increased by about 10 per cent (VND 23,000-25,000/kg).
This has cost farmers about VND5,000 a kilo and forced up to 60 per cent of households rearing tra fish in the Mekong Delta to temporarily stop production.
Duong Nghia Quoc, director of Dong Thap Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said part of the problem was a lack of capital investment.
"It is estimated that more than 80 per cent of tra fish farmers need cash, but high interest rates and a shortage of loan has hampered them," Quoc said.
Due to the shortage of capital, many Vietnamese enterprises are forced to lower the selling price of tra fillet from $3 to $2.6, making survival difficult.
Nguyen Danh Hien, director of the Minh Phu Aqua Product Company in Kien Giang Province said he needed about VND1 billion to raise one hectare of shrimps. However, he could only borrow up to VND30 million because he didn't have much collateral.
When he approached a bank for credit, he was told shrimp raising was too risky and banks didn't want to loan money.
To help farmers overcome difficulties, the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has asked the Government to urgently loan VND4,400 billion ($214.6 million) to tra fish farmers and VND6,000 billion ($293 million) to shrimp farmers.
VASEP wants the Government to levy an interest rate of less than 10 per cent a year. Deputy Minister Tam said MARD would do its best to attract more investment from the foreign direct investment (FDI) sector.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On July 9, 2026, the Embassy of Vietnam in Brazil organized the seminar titled “Sharing Information on Vietnam-Brazil Economic, Trade and Investment Relations in the First Half of 2026” to provide updates on bilateral cooperation and strengthen connections among government agencies, industry associations, and business communities of the two countries.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Seafood exports in the first 6 months of the year continued to be a bright spot with a total turnover of 5.7 billion USD, an increase of 11.4% compared to the same period last year. By commodity group, seafood is one of the three groups with a trade balance in the first 6 months of 2026 in a surplus state with 4.13 billion USD, an increase of 17%.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) For many years, Vietnam’s seafood industry has been recognized as one of the country’s key export pillars. Products such as shrimp, pangasius, tuna, squid, octopus, and a wide range of other seafood have reached hundreds of markets worldwide. Yet behind these impressive export figures lies a significant challenge: a substantial share of Vietnam’s seafood export value still comes from minimally processed products, contract manufacturing, and raw material exports—segments characterized by low profit margins and high vulnerability to fluctuations in global prices.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the context of a global economy shifting powerfully toward green and sustainable values, Vietfish 2026 is far more than just a commercial trade fair. It has become a strategic rendezvous and a "comprehensive ecosystem"—a convergence of value, knowledge, and sustainable growth opportunities for the entire industry chain.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports to Colombia continued their strong upward momentum in May 2026. Export value to the market reached USD 4 million, up 24% compared to the same month in 2025. Cumulative exports in the first five months of 2026 totaled USD 24 million, an impressive 48% increase year-on-year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Hai Phong's aquaculture sector is accelerating the adoption of high technologies in aquaculture to adapt to climate change, with red tilapia and tilapia identified as the key cultured species for priority development.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached nearly US$1.1 billion in June 2026, up 21.0% year-on-year. Cumulative exports in the first half of 2026 totaled nearly US$5.8 billion, representing a 12.8% increase compared with the same period last year. Exports to China and Hong Kong continued to accelerate, while shipments to the United States rebounded strongly in June. In contrast, exports to the EU, Japan, and the Middle East remained sluggish or recorded slight declines.
(vasep.com.vn) Tilapia is playing an increasingly important role in Vietnam’s aquaculture sector, driven not only by growing market opportunities but also by its ability to meet increasingly stringent requirements on quality, food safety, and traceability. In practice, tilapia farming in Vietnam is not a spontaneous or loosely regulated activity; rather, it operates under a comprehensive legal and technical framework covering the entire value chain—from hatcheries and farming to processing and exports.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached USD 1.9 billion in the first five months of 2026, up 12% compared with the same period last year. Amid continued volatility in the global seafood market, this result demonstrates that the shrimp sector has maintained positive growth momentum, supported by improving demand in several Asian markets, particularly China.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On June 16, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ca Mau Province announced that the locality has established a farming area code for nearly 30,400 hectares of mud crab aquaculture and granted export facility codes to five enterprises eligible to export mud crab officially to markets such as China, Cambodia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
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