The southernmost province of Ca Mau will launch a broad range of measures to realise its 1 billion USD target in seafood export turnover this year.

The locality will invest 10 billion VND (roughly 477,000 USD) to organise fact-finding trips for 20 delegations of experts to explore over 20 markets worldwide, including the US , the EU and China , said Ly Van Thuan, Secretary General of the Ca Mau Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors.

Dozens of business delegations will also study potential markets such as India , Australia , the Republic of Korea , Japan , Russia , the Middle East and South Africa , Thuan added.

The common direction is market expansion and addressing difficulties regarding capital and stockpiles.

As reported, in the first two months of this year, businesses signed 23 contracts worth nearly 10 million USD with partners from the RoK, Japan , Russia and Canada .

Le Van Quang, Director General of Minh Phu Seafood Export Co., said Vietnam ’s aquatic products, and those of Ca Mau province in particular, are well known throughout the world.

Ca Mau’s seafood export revenue stood at 950 million USD last year, he noted.

However, due to impacts of the global economic downturn, seafood businesses in Ca Mau faced a wide range of difficulties over the last two years, with many of them coming close to bankruptcy.

Twenty-three out of the 33 seafood processing plants operating in Ca Mau made a loss last year.-VNA