(vasep.com.vn) Between January and March 2013, Vietnam imported US$133 million of fish for processing. The four main suppliers were Taiwan, Japan, Norway and India, covering 40.3 percent of the total. In the next two quarters of the year, purchase of raw material from outside is predicted to increase by 5 – 7 percent over the compatible period of 2012.

The House Agriculture Committee voted to repeal a controversial catfish inspection program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture late Wednesday night – a sign the program, which was mandated by the 2008 farm bill to help protect U.S. catfish farmers from cheap imports, may be headed for the chopping block.

Skipjack prices at the Bangkok tuna auction hit a record level of $2400 per ton last month, although they have retreated slightly since then.

Next June Honduras could become the newest member of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC).

Thailand is trying to build links and trade pacts with Pacific nations to feed its growing industrial sector, and to ensure the future supply of tuna raw materials to its canneries.

(vasep.com.vn) In 2012, Vietnam shrimp sales to EU experienced a setback due to EU’s low demand for shrimp imports and consumption caused by the economic stagnation.

"The outbreak of early mortality syndrome (EMS), also known as acute hepatopancreatic necrosis syndrome (AHNS), in Asian shrimp has led to questions about whether trade in certain products represents a bio security risk to producers in the Western hemisphere," said Steven Hedlund, communications manager at Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA).

(vasep.com.vn) With a population of 47 million people and 50 million of tourists each year, Spain is one of the world’s leading seafood consumer markets. However, its imports of fish products, particularly pangasius, have been decreasing in two consecutive years due to economic troubles.

The wholesale prices of imported frozen shrimp are soaring by a large margin in Japan as supply decreased drastically in the wake of the spread of infectious disease in the farming ponds in the Southeast Asian countries since last fall.

"Huge amount s" of fresh fish -- in particular cod -- are flooding the European market, Steinar Eliassen, managing director of the Troms-based company Norfra, told Kyst og Fjord.

(vasep.com.vn) In quarter I/2013, Vietnam seafood exports reached US$1.26 billion, down 4.8%. For the first time in 4 years, since 2009, exports of main products to major markets decreased in the first quarter of the year. It’s a consequence of continuous difficulties of importing markets, capital and material sourcing since 2012.

Supermarket prices have risen by an average of 6.8 per cent over the past year, with eggs, infant formula and canned fish soaring above the prices of other household basics, the latest consumer watchdog survey has revealed.

(vasep.com.vn) On Apr 24th, at the 21st edition of the European Seafood Exposition (ESE) held in Brussels, Belgium, Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) in cooperation with Directorate of Fisheries (D-Fish) organized a press conference aimed at spotlighting the quality of Vietnamese seafood products.

With quotas on its anchovies limiting growth of fishmeal shipments to China, Peru hopes to ship greater quantities of scallops, shrimp and anchovies to China, according to a senior trade official in Lima.

The European Parliament has given its final approval to the Application Protocol to the Fisheries Agreement between the EU and Mauritius.