The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho targets an export value of 485 million USD from aquatic products in 2015, a 23.7 percent rise over 2014, according to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

To this end, the city will focus on enhancing product quality to meet food safety requirements and diversifying export products, said Duong Dinh Hiep, deputy head of the department.

Together with expanding the application of international quality standards in aquaculture farms, the city will concentrate on brand-building activities and calling for more businesses to invest in top-to-end production chains, said Hiep.

Farming areas to the VietGAP and Global GAP standards will be expanded to double the current 500 hectares, while quality control will be tightened at 12,000 other hectares, Hiep revealed.

As part of efforts to ease raw material shortage, the locality plans to buy over 100,000 tonnes of shrimp and tra fish from the neighbouring provinces of Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, An Giang and Dong Thap, he said.

Hiep added that this solution is expected to raise the proportion of high-quality aquatic products to 22 percent out of total 160,000 tonnes projected to be exported in 2015, meeting the needs of tough customers in Europe, North America, Oceania and Japan .

According to the department, in the first 10 days of 2015, the city shipped abroad 4,400 tonnes of aquatic products for 13.3 million USD, up 1.7 percent over the same time last year.

Data from the city’s Department of Investment and Planning showed that in 2014, despite technical barriers and trade disputes initiated by foreign partners, the city exported 140,000 tonnes of aquatic products worth 420 million USD, an increase of 9 percent year on year.

The results pushed Can Tho’s total export revenue in the year to 1.35 billion USD, the highest recorded by a Mekong Delta locality.-VNA