Vietnam’s tra fish exports to Japan and India are expected to increase, say seafood experts.

Despite Vietnam’s modest revenue from exporting tra fish to Japan, growing imports in this market creates an opportunity for Vietnamese seafood companies to penetrate the country.

At the Japan 2013 International Food and Beverage Exhibition Foodex last month, Vietnamese tra fish drew a lot of attention from Japanese consumers. Crispy tra fillet sticks were the most popular Vietnamese seafood dish on offer.

Seafood companies evaluated that processed tra fish products will be able to enter the market with national and large-scale trade promotion programmes for the product in Japan.

According to the Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Japan has increased its import of tra fish while reducing other seafood products.

Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has exported more than 550,000 USD of tra fish to Japan, a year-on-year increase of 2.7 percent.

Tra fish exports to India also saw a rise of 45 percent to 2.7 million USD over the same period last year, valued at 2.7 million USD. The product is mainly sold at seafood shops and supermarkets in India.-VNA