Seafood exports to China surge
China is projected to become Vietnam’s leading seafood importer from this year’s second quarter with growth of 37%, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam.
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| Tra fish processing for exports |
Nam revealed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will soon hold a trade promotion event in the northern province of Quang Ninh with Chinese importers.
The ministry will also pay working visits to China to address trade barriers for exports of Vietnam’s staples such as seafood, fruits and rice, among others.
China is currently Vietnam’s biggest trade partner, while Vietnam is China’s largest trader in ASEAN.
Two-way trade reached US$93.6 billion in 2017, up 30% year-on-year, and accounting for 22% of Vietnam’s total import-export turnover. Of the total, US$35.4 billion came from Vietnam’s exports.
In the first five months of 2018, Vietnam recorded a year-on-year rise of 9.7% in aquatic export value to US$3.12 billion. The figure for May alone was estimated at US$671 million.
The US, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea were the four biggest importers of Vietnamese aquatic products between January and April, making up 52.7% of total fishery exports in the period.
Meanwhile, markets with strong growth in aquatic imports from Vietnam were the Netherlands (60.2%), China (28.8%), the UK (27.4%) and Germany (27%).
