Despite a sharp increase in its mollusc exports to the US , Vietnam remained at a greater disadvantage than other countries, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.

In the first seven months of this year, the total export earnings from squid and octopus increased by 33 percent compared to the same period last year.

However, the monthly growth was not steady, hovering somewhere between 14-79 percent from March to July. This was, in part, put down to the quality of products.

Vietnam is placed 16th among major exporters of molluscs to the US.-VNA