The Vietnamese Trade Office has reported two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the Czech Republic surpassed US$500 million at the end of November 2013.

Import-export activities fulfilled the set targets and 2013 is the second consecutive year Vietnam has enjoyed trade surplus, whilst exports experienced impressive growth.

With the expected growth of the US economy and continued weakness in many other parts of the world, 2014 looks to be a rough year for seafood traders whose fortunes are tied to foreign currencies.

(vasep.com.vn) In 2013, the U.S. reduced sharply whiteleg shrimp imports from Thailand that was badly hit by EMS. The market increased importing shrimp from Vietnam and India thanks to their reaped high shrimp production. The shrimp price reached a record high in the U.S. market in 2013 and expected to stay on high levels in 2014.

(vasep.com.vn) With some trade agreements signed with Japan and Korea such as Japan-Vietnam Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA), Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA), ASEAN Japan Comprehension Economic Partnership (AJCEP), and ASEAN Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA), Vietnamese products sent to these two countries are going to benefit from a reduction or a future exemption of import taxes. However, Vietnamese export companies also need to find measures to overcome Japanese and Korean non-tariff barriers imposed on imported agricultural and seafood items.

(VNS) The seafood industry should soon work with trade authorities to remove raw seafood for processing from the list of goods requiring an automatic import licence, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien has said.

The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Seafood Importers Association of Australasia (SIAA), in which the two organizations will work collaboratively to advance responsible aquaculture.

(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam and China have set up their special working groups to deal with inspection and quarantine procedures of agricultural, fish and forestry products imported and exported between the two countries.

(vasep.com.vn) According to Vietnam Customs, the country’s seafood exports in 2013 hit US$6.7 billion, up 9.6 percent year-on-year. The figure included shrimp sales of over US$3billion, up 39 percent year-on-year; pangasius sales of US$1.76 billion, up 1 percent; tuna export turnover of US$527 million, down 7.2 percent and US$448 million of cephalopod exports, down 11 percent.

EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki is launching an EU-wide campaign, INSEPARABLE, to raise awareness on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has attacked US seafood imports, saying the country should protect endangered marine mammals by cracking down on foreign fisheries supplying country’s wild-caught seafood.

Viet Nam will increase its supervision

Export of agro-forestry-fisheries products in the first month of this year reached a modest US$2.32 billion, 9.7 per cent lower than one year ago, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Two-way trade between Viet Nam and Brazil hit a record US$2.33 billion in 2013, representing a year-on-year rise of 42.3 pecent.

Germany is Viet Nam's largest European trade partner, comprising 20 per cent of the country's total trade turnover.