Vietnam earned nearly 280 million USD from shrimp exports in August, a year-on-year increase of 38 percent, bringing the total shrimp export value to 1.67 billion USD in the first eight months of this year.

The price of shrimp will continue to go up while its export turnover will grow considerably in the remaining months of this year, said General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Truong Dinh Hoe.

The positive outlook is attributed to the strong growth of white-leg shrimps which increases by 150 percent in August and more than 65 percent over the past eight months.

At present, this kind of shrimps makes up over 46 percent of the nation’s total shrimp exports.

With an average export turnover of about 250 million USD per month, Vietnam ’s shrimp exports are likely to hit 2.5-2.6 billion USD, up 12-16 percent on an annual basis.

The sharp increase in the export value was due to a rise in the shrimp export price, while the supply to the US decreased remarkably after the US Department of Commerce’s (DOC) final decision on anti-subsidy duties on frozen shrimp imported from seven countries, including Vietnam , Hoe said.

In contrast, there is a decline in the exports of tra fish, tuna and octopus, down 14 percent, 25 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively.

Tra exports in January-August reached a mere 1.13 billion USD, a year-on-year decrease of 2.5 percent, while tuna exports were estimated at 376 million USD, down 5 percent.

Seafood export value during last month brought back around 590 million USD, up 4.5-5 percent, pushing the total export value to nearly 4.1 billion USD in the first eight months of this year, up 2.5 percent. against the same period last year.-VNA