The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade coordinated with Trade Offices and Embassies of Vietnam in EU member states to host the Vietnam – EU Business Matching Webinar on Seafood Products 2022 on April 25 – 26.

Part of this year’s national programme on trade promotion, the event aimed to support Vietnamese seafood producers in seeking buyers in the EU.

According to Vietrade Deputy Director Le Hoang Tai, the EU has remained one of Vietnam’s largest seafood importers for years. Taking effect from 2020, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has provided Vietnam with even broader access to the EU market, with all the tariffs on aquatic products eliminated in seven years.

Vietnam’s aquatic exports reached 2.4 billion USD in the first quarter of 2022, up 40 percent from last year.

Shipments of tra fish to the EU totalled 28 million USD in the first two months of this year, up 76 percent year-on-year, while those of shrimp hit 159 million USD, up 66 percent, on the back of rebounding demand post-pandemic.

Last year, Vietnam exported over 1 billion USD worth of aquatic products to the EU, up 12 percent against the previous year. The five biggest EU importers included the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and France, together accounting for 72 percent of the total exports.

Tai expected through the webinar, the Vietnamese producers will have better understanding of the EU market and the partnership between the two sides further accelerate the development of the fishery industry in Vietnam.

Trade Counsellor in Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Latvia Le Hoang Thuy noted that a wider range of convenience goods and instant food products have been made available at supermarkets in northern Europe. It is a good opportunity for Vietnamese exporters to boost sales to standardised processing companies capable of supplying highly value added products to the market, she said.

Sustainable fishery has been an emerging trend in the EU, Thuy noted, adding that it will be likely to be integrated into the management system in the future. This means the EU will require the use of higher and higher socially and environmentally responsible practices on imported seafood over years, the official said.

She also highlighted the importance of ensuring quality control management and rules of origin for Vietnamese products as the EU consumers are paying greater attention to health and origin matters of imported foods. She urged Vietnamese firms to label their products with accurate information and focus more on branding and developing products based on consuming trends./.