Hanoi (VNA) – The export value of tra fish in July continued to drop forthe fifth consecutive month, down 12.7 percent year-on-year, according to theVietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Asa result of the downward trend, the figure for the January-July period alsodecreased 5.5 percent from the same period last year to 1.13 billion USD.
Itis noteworthy that export of the fish to the US market in July declined by asmuch as 56.2 percent to 25.6 million USD, bringing the seven-month figure down34.3 percent to 167.6 million USD.
Eventhough the US is still the second biggest market of Vietnamese tra fish,shipments to this market are forecast to continue decreasing towards the end ofthis year, partly due to many technical and trade barriers to imports of whitefish, including those from China and Vietnam.
Onthe contrary, tra fish export to China and Hong Kong surged 71.1 percent inJuly, resulting in a 10.4 percent increase in the export value of the 7-monthperiod, reaching 320 million USD.
Inthe EU market, signs of slowdown and decrease were observed in tra fish exportto the UK, the second biggest of the fish in the EU, with a 10 percentreduction in July. However, the 7-month figure, at 33.3 million USD, stillshowed a 36.3 percent increase.
Onthe bright side, tra fish export to Germany and Belgium in the first sevenmonths of this year picked up 39.6 percent and 32.5 percent, respectively,partly contributing to a 12.6 percent rise in the figure of the entire EUmarket to 156.7 million USD.
Forother markets, rises were seen in the ASEAN, Mexico and Japan, but reductionswere reported in Brazil and Colombia.
VASEPGeneral Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe said the target of 2.3 billion USD worth oftra fish export this year is still feasible, as exports tend to increase towardsthe end of the year.-VNA