Accordingly, seafood export turnover in the period 2011 – 2015 will reach US$6.5 billion per year. In the period of next 5 years, export value and volume increase to US$8 billion and 1,900 thousand MT per year.
Ms Tran Thi Dung, Director of the Center for Consulting and Fisheries Planning said the fisheries industry must invest in upgrading the processing plants and building the cold storages. The fisheries industry should maintain its current export rate to major markets like the U.S., Japan and EU. By 2020 the demands of these markets are estimated to increase. In the period 2011 - 2020, frozen shrimp, pangasius and cephalopod (squid, octopus) are still important items in the seafood export structure of Vietnam, accounting for 80 percent. Besides, the fisheries industry is also expanding new products. By 2015, exported tilapia production is estimated at 30,000 MT, worth US$80 million.
Furthermore, seafood processing plants will link to the raw material zones and its processing centers. For the Red River Delta, the plants will be put in Hai Phong with sea ports conveniently for transporting and can focus on the cold storage investment. For the Mekong Delta River, it is necessary to build around 10 to 12 plants with the capacity of 4.000 – 5.000 MT per year and the productive use of equipments at 90 percent to ensure the export production planning.
By 2020, this region needs to invest in new plants with the capacity of about 5,000 MT per year in some provinces like Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Can Tho and Dong Thap. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said that to solve problems of aquaculture, it is essential to immediately stop the ineffective rampant farming development, in particularly uncontrolled seed and farming environment quality, affecting the prestige and efficiency of production.