Tra fish exports hit a record of 2.26 billion USD in 2018 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Tra fish exports posted animpressive growth rate of 26.4 percent this year to hit a record of 2.26billion USD, according to the Directorate of Fisheries of Vietnam.
Nguyen Ngoc Oai, Acting Director General of thedirectorate, said tra fish exports have leapt from 1.78 billion USD in 2017 to2.26 billion USD this year, compared to revenue of only about 1.5 – 1.8 billionUSD over the last five years and the 1.9 – 2 billion USD target initially setfor 2018.
The breakthrough growth is attributable tonumerous factors, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters andProducers (VASEP).
Aside from high prices since 2017, businesseshave improved their product quality and organised production chains to ensuresufficient supplies.
Additionally, growing demand in many markets,particularly major ones like the US, China (including Hong Kong), the EU andASEAN, has helped boost tra fish exports.
VASEP elaborated that this year, the US returnedto top spot among Vietnam’s tra fish markets, with shipments surging by 54.5percent to make up 24.2 percent of total revenue. Tra fish exports to China andthe EU have hiked 23.7 percent and 17.1 percent year on year, respectively.
Oai said Vietnamese tra fish has suffered fromanti-dumping duties imposed by the US over the years. However, in 2018, severaldelegations of inspectors from the US Department of Agriculture visitedVietnam. After examinations, this department’s Food Safety and InspectionService proposed Vietnamese tra and basa fish be recognised as eligible forexport to the US.
Moreover, anti-dumping duties on some tra fishexporters have been reduced, even to zero percent for some firms, helping trafish shipments to this market enjoy breakthrough growth, the officialadded.-VNA
VNA
