Seafood exports set to grow 6.3% this year after sharp fall
New free trade deals with EU and Asian markets are expected to increase Vietnam’s seafood exports to more than US$7 billion this year, a trade group has said.
Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors, said at a recent meeting in the Mekong Delta’s Can Tho that exports in 2016 are expected to grow 6.3% from last year.
Half of the revenue will come from shrimp exports, which are poised to increase around 12%, Hoe said, as cited by the Saigon Times Online.
Benefits from free trade pacts with EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea and ASEAN neighbors will help Vietnam weather the tough competition from Ecuador, India, Indonesia and Thailand, he said.
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Tuna exports are also expected to rise 8% from last year, and squid and octopus shipments 10%.
Vietnamese seafood businesses had a bad year in 2015 when exports dropped 14.5% from the previous year to US$6.7 billion. Hot weather and low prices prompted businesses to scale down their operation, according to insiders.
This year businesses have been expecting a strong recovery brought by new free trade deals, as well as prospects of the upcoming Trans Pacific Partnership. Twelve countries in the pact, including the US and Japan, set to reduce or eliminate 90% of import tariffs.
