Seafood expo bolsters Vietnamese exports to US market

More than 1,000 of suppliers from around the world joined the annual event, offering the newest seafood products as well as modern processing and packaging equipment.

The Vietnamese delegation, led by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), includes several companies that have operated internationally for many years such as Vinh Hoan Corporation, Minh Phu Seafood Corporation, Hung Vuong Corporation and other brands such as Nghi Son Foods Group, Trang Thuy Seafood Co., Ltd and Seaprimexco Vietnam.

According to An The Dung, director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Vietnam trade promotion office in the US, Vietnamese seafood has a great opportunity to break into the US, where demand for seafood products is growing.

Furthermore, anti-dumping taxes levied on Vietnamese shrimp are expected to decline from 25.39 percent to 4.58 percent while tra fish, which has long been popular among foreign consumers, will be soon certified to be shipped to this market.

VASEP Vice General Secretary To Thi Tuong Lan said the quality of Vietnamese seafood has received high rating in international markets and is present in 160 countries and territories worldwide. Vietnam is currently the largest tra fish supplier and fourth biggest shrimp exporter in the world.

Describing product diversification and quality improvement as keys to promote shipments to the US, Lan said “Vietnam has many opportunities to sell not only its two main products- shrimp and tra fish but also many other processed products with high added value”.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Dang Dinh Quy said Vietnamese exports will thrive in 2019 on the back of increasing demands in the US market coupled with several new-generation free trade agreements that will take effect this year.

However, Vietnamese firms should work more to ensure environmental protection and product quality to meet requirements of the US market, he said, adding it is necessary for them to cooperate with US processing firms and importers to create a complete value chain, facilitating trade between the two sides.

The seafood sector has an ambitious target of earning 10 billion USD from exports this year, up 10 percent from 2018. However, the goal can be achieved thanks to robust signs in foreign markets. VASEP eyes to earn 4.2 billion USD from shrimp exports, 2.3 billion USD from tra fish exports, and some 3.5 billion USD from other seafood shipments.

In addition, seafood consumption is expected to rise to 98.6 million tonnes in developing countries and 29.2 million tonnes in developed countries.

VASEP said that it will work to increase Vietnamese seafood’s presence in fastidious markets like the US, Japan and the EU, and see quality as a competitive edge, not low price.

VNA