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Seafood exports jump 14.5%
Seafood exports totalled US$861 million in the first quarter of the year, an increase of 14.5 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
In March alone, exports grew by $92 million over the previous month to a total of $320 million, the GSO said.
Catfish and frozen shrimp were key export products in the first quarter, with a total export value of $312.6 million, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with tra and basa catfish exports reaching a value of $184.3 million on a volume of 87,000 tonnes, and frozen shrimp exports a value of $128.3 million on a volume of 14,670 tonnes.
The EU remained the leading export market, buying up $133.8 million worth of Vietnamese seafood in the first quarter despite the impact of new regulations on certificates of origin. Japan and the US followed, with export values of $93.8 million and $89.7 million, respectively.
Seafood exporters were confident of reaching this year's export target of $4.5 billion, said Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) general secretary Truong Dinh Hoe, with new export markets being sought in Eastern Europe and North Africa.
Challenges facing the sector included import barriers and fierce competition among other exporters in terms of price, quality, and delivery and payment conditions, Hoe said. Processors were also facing ongoing shortages of raw materials at home, he added.
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