(vasep.com.vn) World Seafood Moscow 2014, held from 15th to 17th September in Moscow, drawing the attention of Asian nations, including Vietnam. The food ban of Russia is seen as an opportunity to explore the markets.
Due to the embargo, there was no seafood booths from the US and EU. Asian companies became outstanding; Vietnam, among which, with pangasius products got the interest of visitors.
It is seen that there was a serious lack in seafood while prices increased sharply. Norwegian salmon is sold at US$ 11 USD /kg, nearly 3 times as much as that before the embargo.
“Russia, though having plentiful natural resources and few processors, depends heavily on imports. Annually, Russia spend US$ 200 million on agricultural and seafood imports. A lot of goods needs to be substituted due to the import ban. Vietnam companies can grab this opportunity to surge imports”,said Mr. Duong Ngoc Minh, Vice president of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers and General Director of Hung Vuong Corporation (HVG) at the trade fair.
Mr. Duong Ngoc Minh forecast that seafood exports to Russia increased 5 times in 2015. It í also hoped that the increasing demand coupled with zero tax rate in early 2015 when FTA takes effect will popularize Vietnam seafood.
Russian importers said prices of food in Russia increased by at least 10-15% in just two months. Therefore, Russian importers are willing to source shrimp, pangasius and marine fish from Vietnam.