Provinces involved in rearing and catching fish have called for foreign investment in the processing industry, which they believe is a way of increasing the income of farmers who are paying high input costs, according to the chinhphu.vn site.

In June, the People's Committee of the central province of Binh Dinh organised promotions in the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Sakai and Kyoto, calling for investment in rearing and processing fish, especially tuna.

The Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association suggested that Binh Dinh province should send farmers to Japan to train in ways of preserving tuna for export.

Fisheries enterprises from Osaka have already visited Binh Dinh, seeking a place to build a processing factory and to cooperate in expanding exports of shrimp, fish and tuna, to Japan .

Other coastal provinces, including Quang Ninh and Ba Ria – Vung Tau, have promoted programmes to attract foreign investors.

Nguyen Viet Thang, chairman of the Vietnam Tra Fish Association, said foreign investment in the fisheries sector was low.

However he advised the sector to be careful that foreign investors did not dominate the local market.-VNA