The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho is working hard for a target of producing 380,000 tonnes of aquatic products by 2020, mostly for export, doubling that of 2014, according to the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Currently, the city is implementing 12 aquaculture projects to realise the goal, said Pham Van Quynh, head of the department.

From 2015, Can Tho will expand total fish and shrimp farming areas to 26,000 hectares, focusing mostly in Thot Not, Vinh Thanh, Co Do, and Phong Dien districts.

In order to ensure sufficient supply of breeding stock for the local aquaculture sector, Can Tho is speeding up the construction of a breeding centre with a capacity of providing 2 billion fry of various species every year.

At the same time, the city will encourage the application of science and technology in aquatic farming, particularly the adoption of good aquaculture practices meeting national and international standards, including the VietGAP and GlobalGAP.

In addition, Can Tho will build a number of new processing factories with a total capacity of 122,000 tonnes per year, enabling the city to process 200,000 tonnes of raw seafood materials each year by 2020.

This year, the city’s aquatic output is expected to reach 200,000 tonnes, according to the chief of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Next year, Can Tho targets 205,000 tonnes of total output, a rise of 6.7 percent year on year, while shipping abroad 120,000 tonnes of processed products for 485 million USD, up 27 percent.

Currently, key markets of Can Tho’s aquaculture products include those in Asia, Europe, America and Middle East.-VNA