The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in collaboration with the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs, held a conference to connect Vietnamese and Singaporean seafood enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City in late June, aiming to enhance cooperation in the seafood sector.

Agro-forestry-fishery exporters raise their game in order to expand markets - illustration photo

The conference was organised as more Singaporean groups are seeking opportunities in Vietnam to build stable supply chains, connect, invest and leverage advantages to export seafood to other countries.

Vietnam’s aquatic exports to Singapore in the first five months of this year hit $35 million, down 5 per cent on-year, according to VASEP.

Cao Xuan Thang, commercial counsellor and head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore, said, “Singapore lacks potential in producing and processing seafood production. The domestic supply can only meet 10 per cent of its food demand, with the remaining 90 per cent being imported from various countries.”

Vietnamese seafood products are increasingly present in Singapore through various promotional activities and participation in bilateral trade promotion programmes, Thang said.

“Singapore is a trade and service centre of the region with various partners, thus, establishing the relationship between Vietnamese seafood producers with Singapore companies will also create opportunities to promote Vietnamese seafood to the region,” Thang added.

Localities are also looking for a way to export their agro-products. Long An in the Mekong Delta region is currently the largest lime-producing province in the region, with over 11,000 hectares of production area. Ben Luc district currently accounts for more than half of this, with output primarily consisting of seedless limes and Persian limes, which are mostly exported to the EU and Asia.

The province’s Ben Luc Cooperative established a representative office in Dubai. As a result, since early January, Ben Luc exported an average of 8–10 containers of lime, each with a weight of 24 tonnes, to Dubai.

In addition, localities and businesses participated in international expos to promote their agro-forestry-fishery products, such as the Seafood Expo North America organised in March, and approach new markets, such as China.

Sao Ta Foods JSC, which is one of the top three enterprises with the highest shrimp export turnover in Vietnam, is making efforts to expand its export markets.

“In any situation, we try to expand the market. We acquired success from the UK market and have started to see profits from Japan and South Korea,” said Ho Quoc Luc, chairman of Sao Ta’s Board of Directors.

In the first half of this year, it is estimated that Sao Ta’s export turnover hit double-digit growth.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the six-month trade surplus of the agro-forestry-fishery sector hit as much as $8.3 billion, with exports standing at $29.2 billion and imports reaching $20.9 billion. The United States, China, and Japan continued to maintain the top three largest import markets with respective growth rates of 20.8, 9.5, and 5 per cent.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said, “From July onwards, the demand for agricultural products in overseas markets will continue to increase. Thus, the industry is confident of export turnover of $54 billion in 2024.”