(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam seafood exporters hope that processed and value-added seafood products exported to South Korea will enjoy lower duty rates thanks to free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and South Korea being negotiated by the two countries.
The FTA will help Vietnam goods get the duties that are lower and faster than that regulated in South Korea – ASEAN FTA. In which, agricultural and seafood products will enjoy lower tariffs and shorter tariff reduction schedules than other products.
However, FTA also challenges Vietnam seafood exporters to South Korea because they have to face technical barriers including stricter regulations on quarantining fish farms and seafood products.
Besides, South Korean consumers require high quality products. Particularly, importers from the country demand that ready to eat products from Vietnam must have quality and design as good as those exported to Japan. But import prices into South Korea are often lower than those of other major markets.
South Korea is an attractive destination of global seafood suppliers. According to International Trade Centre, in 2012, South Korea imported US$3.21 billion of seafood and exported only US$1.77 billion. It proved that seafood demand of South Korea is increasingly high.
Since 2008, Vietnam has remained to be the third largest seafood supplier to South Korea with export turnover of US$395.3 million in 2012. Vietnam has 280 seafood exporters to the market. Some Vietnam’s goods exported to South Korea enjoyed zero duty rate or the duty rates that are much lower than those regulated in South Korea – ASEAN FTA.
Shrimp is one of Vietnam’s two main seafood items exported to South Korea. It occupies over 33 percent of Vietnam’s total seafood export turnover to the market.
With efforts to boost producing value-added and ready-to-eat products, Vietnam seafood exporters hope that Vietnam - South Korea FTA will facilitate them to raise competitiveness in the market.