(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After declining in 2018, China's tuna exports in 2019 have recovered. According to statistics of the General Department of Customs of China, China's tuna exports in the first 11 months of 2019 reached 214 thousand MT, worth US$ 886 million, up nearly 5% in volume and equivalent value compared to the same period in 2018.

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang plans to increase the area under industrial and semi-industrial shrimp farming models to 3,200ha and annual output to 28,000 tonnes this year, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) South Korea is still the largest importer of Vietnamese cephalopod, accounting for 39.9% of Vietnam's total export of cephalopod to markets. In the fourth quarter of 2019, cephalopod exports to South Korea reached US$ 61.4 million, down nearly 32% compared to the fourth quarter of 2018.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) confirmed it has decided to postpone an on-site audit in Vietnam.

On March 4, 2020 in Hanoi, VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong awarded the certificates of merit of VCCI President to seven units for their valuable contributions to the construction of the revised Labor Code 2019. The awardees included the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association (VEIA), the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso), the Food and Foodstuff Association of Ho Chi Minh City (FFA), the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham).

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Australia was the seventh largest shrimp importer of Vietnam, accounting for 3.8% of Vietnam's total shrimp export value to markets. After declining in 2018, Vietnamese shrimp exports to Australia in 2019 grew positively.

Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, scheduled to take place 15 to 17 March in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., has been postponed by the event’s organizer, Diversified Communications.

The Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification program continued to grow in 2019, with 2,681 BAP-certified processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills worldwide by the end of the year. That’s up almost 15 percent from the program’s 2018 count, according to the GAA’s annual report.

Relations between the EU and some ASEAN member states have been tense in recent years because of the seafood trade, stemming from the European Commission’s (EC) sanctions related to the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. As Chair of ASEAN 2020, Vietnam hopes to promote cooperation among ASEAN member states and address this issue to actively contribute towards better ASEAN-EU trade relations.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2020, Kien Giang province strives to reach 85,000 MT of shrimp production, providing raw materials for processing and exports, with a total shrimp farming area of about 120,000 hectares.