Vietnam increases seafood exports to EU
Twenty-four Vietnamese enterprises are participating in the 2016 Global Seafood Expo in Brussels, Belgium, from April 26-28.
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They brought familiar Vietnamese products including tra and basa fish and shrimp to the event, hoping to increase seafood exports to the EU.
Tran Van Dung, a Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) representative, said that Vietnamese seafood businesses have prepared equipment and processing technologies in an attempt to go into the European market further once the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA) comes into effect.
At the event, the Vietnamese Trade Office in Belgium organised a workshop on the EU’s seafood market and opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises.
Deputy Head of the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries Nguyen Ngoc Oai said Vietnam had improved its legal framework and institutions for fishery management following European Commission proposals.
According to statistics from VASEP, Vietnam earned US$1.4 billion from seafood exports in the first quarter of 2016, a year-on-year rise of 9%.
Together with the US and Japan, the EU is an important importer of Vietnamese seafood, accounting for 18% of the country’s total export volume.
